Red Velvet
by Toy.Story
Summary: AU. Unrequited love can be such a deadly thing.
1. Stage I

**_Warnings: Non-con, Dark, Death, Violence, Obsession, OOC-ness, AU, Suspense, Bad language, abuse, cameos, and many graphical scenes._**

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_**Stage I**_

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It was small, peculiar things Jellal Fernandes remembered whenever he was asleep. Little unrecognizable thoughts he can never figure out how he dreamt of them, or how he brought them up or why they kept on repeating themselves like some broken record. Sometimes in life, he wanted to know some of these things, was it a demonic sign from the devil—Zeref? Or a reverend from the heavens gifted by Mavis? He didn't know. But then again, he didn't really care for a certain amount of reasons. Although most of the time he couldn't help but ponder these thoughts, for which these weren't really 'typical' dreams to begin with.

Most delusion fantasies involved himself doing inane things that could make him ponder if he was really doing it. A few dreams that involved blood-curling screams; anger, violence, and the sweet satisfaction of a sea-salt scent would pour into his body, like an accomplished task for a price that was worth it—a bath filled with mirth, at least that's what he assumed. Many of these dreams would have him wake up drenched with sweat; invading his nose, forehead, neck, and the rest of his body practically sobbing of their own crystal-like tears. These distant illusions were slowly killing him inside; making him wake-up for the rest of the night and pour himself a warm cup of coffee every day before doing the impossible. It became aggravating, confusing, and sleep-depriving as well.

That's when Jellal knew he was beginning to smell the aroma of not only the strong heavy caffeine, but the horrid essence of insomnia kicking into his body with every chance it got.

Sleeping and sleeping, oh how he craved of sleeping. Even sometimes staying late watching television in order to let at least _something _kick in that dull mind of his, but to no prevail, nothing worked. In many ways, Jellal was continuously struggling to stay asleep. Personally, it was amazing how on the most depressing days he sometimes saw himself sleeping—or possibly slept with his eyes open sometimes, or...just wasn't sleeping at all, but pretended to. It seems that it was his mind playing games and insulting him—letting him have daily questions about himself on just what was going on, or why this was beginning to become an unfamiliar habit out of the blue. However, he found himself thinking some seriously fucked up things that he can never see himself doing. It was pretty weird—fascinating, and indescribable. But then again, anyone can dream…right?

Jellal can never really dream. That was what he knew. He never held the power to control or amazingly wish up things nor gain it. He realized this at the age of fourteen. "_Those who dream were thinking of thoughts they wished could happen,"_ one of his teachers explained to him at one point in his lifetime.

It bothered him that he could not even constantly wish and crave the many things he wanted in his life. Albeit, even if he tried forcing or changing the ways his thoughts and the reality of life molding together like churned butter, it was simply impossible because it gave him a blunt trauma of a dangerous migraine. Most of the time, he would write his nightly lessons in a small notepad, wanting to know exactly why these small, fifteen minutes—or less, dreams were pretty disturbing in the eyes of cutesy animals and little innocent virgins.

Jellal wanted to know, exactly…why was he going through them? And why they woke him up whenever blood was involved, screaming, and his child-hood friends.

These thoughts...at first, Jellal were convinced it had something to do with his apartment. That maybe, just maybe… it was lingering with deadly spirits, or his highly squeaking mattress was possessed with bed bugs. He wouldn't even mind if the cause were uncomfortable metallic springs sticking out in his old bed and stabbing him in the back and sides. But…no, that wasn't the case at all.

There was something else bothering him deep down that he could barely pronounce it on the tip of his long muscle of a tongue. In all honesty, he didn't know at all. But now that he thought about it; his insomnia began not too long ago, possibly about a month now. Jellal assumed maybe he just wasn't used to his new apartment, though he highly doubts it because the place he lived in now was a small, cozy apartment in the busy streets of Magnolia Town. And in all honesty, he'd rather that than the large family estate of a mansion he used to reside in.

Though this didn't calm him down in the slightest. Jellal knew that wasn't really the problem since he was the type to be pretty much comfortable in any atmosphere despite how sketchy the area was. For the life of him he couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried. And it wasn't that old king-sized bed that sometimes felt like a prison bunk, it wasn't the small space of room he can only afford in the rundown house of his; but truthfully, he was convinced it was himself.

All through the years since he lived in Magnolia Town, New York (which he dealt with painfully long months of traffic and traveling around because of his studies and achievements) Jellal had some thought on what was the problem, and who became involved with most of his current, small memories. Who he kept seeing and who was the secret being standing away in the distance like a spirit that had not yet traveled to the other side. The angel that always stood there, watching him deal with his drastic, screaming, figment of imagination every day for the past three weeks.

It was Erza.

Erza Scarlet.

An enchanting girl that was roving in his heart and soul for far too long, Jellal was mildly surprised he hadn't forgotten her at all throughout the years. But then again, he would be damned if he ever dared forgot her, only because he knew something tragic would be missing from his mind, his heart, and his soul.

Erza Scarlet was his first love. A small girl who brought tons of emotional urges out of him that he can never seem to say, no matter how perfect or apparent that little mind of his was. She was insanely attractive in his eyes and never had she wandered away from his sight back when they were kids.

Jellal met her when he was a child, no more than nine years old to be specific. He and the others were forced to live in an isolated island, suffering the horrid uses of child labor. Kids, possibly younger than him by two years or so were constantly covered in dirt, scabs and infected gashes, especially the horrid stench of hardworking bodies all day long. The island however was considered as _The Tower of Heaven, _which was a home where children was taken away from their loved ones and had to work under the pure, round beam of the sun for a long time until someone overexerts themselves—and those who did go over the limit with themselves was either beaten or taken by their master and to never come back. Most of the time, sitting down, letting your feet touch the cold, salty water, and sleeping underneath leafy shades for at least five minutes was considered a kiss of luck from the goddess Mavis herself.

It was a memory he wish he didn't remember, or he wished he and the others didn't have to go through because none of them—not _anyone _should have to go through those circumstances.

There were times where he saw himself with a group of kids; their names were none other than Milliana, Sho, Simon, Erza, Wally. And of course a few other kids he never really had the chance to know. Out of all of them, for reasons unknown, he paid attention to Erza the most.

He didn't know why, but she made everything interesting whenever her presence came into their cave or whenever she was there a few feet with them. Was it her innocence that made him a little infatuated with her? Or was it because she didn't like tension, thought others shouldn't separate because her parents did and it pretty much scarred her memories?

It was those small memories he remembered. Not entirely, because most of them were cloudy, bizarre, out of place and completely different with every small nap his body can consume. But no matter what, those dreams were infested with the small red-head.

_Ah, _sometimes in his life...he felt an ultimatum appear right in front of him.

The good thing was that…Jellal was always a man who quested for the forbidden—a challenge that made everything not so boring once in awhile. Intricate games were rare yet amusing, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to find out what disaster or surprises that would lead in the end. Curiosity was such a dangerous thing; and the story of Pandora's Box was reeling in his head for some odd reason. His brain warning him that it was too dangerous to find out, but he yearned to seek justice in his memories and dreams.

The twenty eight year old considered that he was an insomniac for quite a very long time, only because he never really could sleep and has forgotten how it felt to just sleep. Maybe a couple of hours, two hours the most, but he wasn't bothered by the fact that he couldn't sleep. Just the streaming thoughts that pranced in his head weren't really all that great to remember because it was his _childhood_ thoughts that kept coming back. Hitting harder and harder into the walls of his skull every morning, evening, and night.

It wasn't like this before…so why was it affecting him now?

In that dreary world of his, he craved to change things up on his own— like losing purposely in a game of chess just to see the opponent's smug attitude and false hope. Jellal watched these small dreams for many weeks—and it scared him how repetitive they've been forming every month or so.

It took a mere few days afterwards to find out that they weren't leaving anytime soon. These illusions were here to _stay, _and because of this, it became a movie of his own amusement. A secret meaning that took moments for it to sink inside of him and tell him the dirty truth; something similar to a pregnant teenager confessing to her parents that she was no longer the innocent little maiden they once thought she was.

His conscience wasn't making anything better. If anything, it made him have less control of his body and mind, giving him more and more ideas as if he was being controlled by something more powerful.

Jellal became sickly thinking about different thoughts of Erza and everything else in his life. It never bothered him because no matter what… _she_ was there. With her puffed up cheeks, soft pink lips, her flowing red hair that resembled so much of the early morning sun, and that flowing torn dress dancing freely against her upper thighs and knees. However, those broken brown almonds would always stare at him in sorrow; his mind would continuously wander away to Erza, wanting to know what goes through her head whenever she sees him or whenever she was gazing distantly at the night sky.

He remembered those faint thoughts, because there would be times when her skin was wonderfully pristine, and then the next hazy thought would appear and Erza had her arms filled with small bruises resting on most of her limbs, neck, and chest. He considered it was their slave-master driving them to the brink of death, although it was pretty confusing how his dreams seem to have a mind of their own as most of the things he thought were disgustingly weird. And yes, he wished he can control them… but couldn't no matter how controllable they seemed.

And this…personally scared him out of his wits.

The reveries weren't real of course. They were memories…that were a mixed combination of reality and nightmares. He thought this constantly whenever he came face-to-face with the mirror. The dark, bruising tired circles peering around his eyes, and the dark, itchy sensation of five-a-clock shadow brimming around his jaw.

Jellal knew he shouldn't be reacting so…jumpy. They were just distant thoughts of his imagination going crazy, constantly showing him daily white lies that never happened. His friends changed throughout the years. Sho and Wally were his best friends from high school and separated into different towns of Fiore for college. Milliana became one of his colleagues and works in a Vet Shop invaded with cats and kittens, and Simon was his partner in kick-boxing and other marital fighting styles he's come to recognize.

And now that he thought about it, he really didn't have a great childhood nor school life because he was unbearably isolated. Though of course, the teachers would pretty much agree and say he was…different, but not that he cared. He was isolated for reasons unknown, and he never really cared why, nor bothered to be distracted by it. The less he knew the better. Besides, he has friends, he has a family, and he gained everything he wanted within a blink of an eye.

Only because he had the power to do that, but sleep.

He was filthy rich in some sort of sense. Nearly intimidating in the eyes of his superiors, and he held natural dark blue hair and a reddening tattoo taking over the right side of his face like a common plague. However, apparently the rumors spread every day about him. Weird, stupid ones that make him laugh to himself every time he made contact with the mirror. There would be times when others said he was a creep— a sentimental loner, or a man who hated everything in life.

Even his sweet little sister, Juvia, was aware of it. But she never agreed with the statement. She loved him and he felt the same way about her.

Family wise.

These were things he had familiarized in his high school days, and of course it was pretty much the same way in college.

And now, here he was. Living in a rundown apartment that was pricy on rent, a few blocks downtown—near the infamous lights of Time Square, Manhattan. He was a full-time Caterer and owned a business named Crime Sorcière; was an important member to the Council of Fiore thanks to his late father. Jellal gained a few friends throughout the years, but not many since life itself had people come and go faster than he experienced. His hobbies were taking pictures of beautiful things, drawing and sketching things that intrigued him, and he had a creative side of writing poetry about many inspirational thoughts that attacked his mind. Jellal also liked to work out until he couldn't feel his body anymore; fighting was a great exercise, and even Wally gave him the best advice to dodge and to throw more powerful kicks and learn to identify his opponents weaknesses.

Personally, if others were in his shoes, or if they had a word to speak in his funeral, they would truly say he lived a boring life; that he was distant, complicated, and possibly the most eccentric man known on Earth.

But then again… they didn't know his real-life. His inspirations, his lifestyle, his interests and his favorite color.

That's when his mind began to slowly put new…_interesting_ puzzle pieces into his small dreams, and it made everything different because…it wasn't a dream anymore. The more he wrote, drew, and took pictures; it slowly became the key of stopping his insomnia and he soon got a good hold of sleep no matter how disgusting his new hobby was, no matter how truly _livid_ he felt. It felt so…_so right,_ and he couldn't stop even if he tried. Mentally, physically, and emotionally, Jellal felt so incredibly high at the feeling, and he craved for more and more with every second of the day.

It was after two more weeks in his apartment, he comprehended something sweetly addicting. The thousands of pictures that were stapled onto his wall; the hundreds of different body poses that were glued onto his sketchbook and of course, in his mind. Even the many thought out poetries overflowing his desk, printer, and memory on his laptop…

They had one thing in common.

They were literally filled with Erza.

From the tips of her baby hair on that little head of hers, to her small nimble toes that looked so delicious to taste; everything about her was just absolutely relinquishing in his eyes. The pictures… throughout the years they've changed. The scratchy drawings of women—the anatomy of large bountiful breasts, small waist, and longs legs that can go on for miles. Each and every one of them became tainted with red hair and brown, edible eyes.

After many months of escalating his new hobbies, that's when Jellal found out he had a _darker, _malicious side to himself, and he soon found out he wasn't doing so well controlling it. He couldn't stop thinking about Erza and sometimes he kept on seeing the island…The Tower of Heaven.

And now that he's seen her again—once—he became quickly addicted to her. He's taken pictures of her from a distance, he took tabloids that involved her from the daily wizard newspapers, the inspiration of poetry that became a work of beauty was her truly doing these things to him.

She was quickly taking over him. Mind, body, heart and soul.

Jellal was truly _interested_ with his Erza. His…_Scarlet_.

He was always infatuated with her beauty, his love for her, and how he dreamt of making her realize that there was no one in the world more in love with her than him. He began to realize that he was losing his trail of his purpose in life, for which all he thought about was how he would be able to catch her attention, how to swoon and seduce her, and how to taste those lush lips and savor her with every inch of frustration he experienced. Instead of living his life, everything turned into a plan—a…a dream. He craved to find out more things about her—to see how much the woman he's known for so long grown accustomed to being…strong, dedicated, and even smile at her constantly at her new 'Fairy Tail' friends when she rarely smiled at him back then.

Jellal delved inside his personal book. A small red leather journal that he titled _'Red Velvet'_. He decided to name it after the first poetry he's written about her_. _A lyrical poem that took most of his time, and although he couldn't help expressing his feelings for her out loud, he's been writing about her since the day his little illusions started happening. Each sentence and every paragraph spent day in and day out was all about her. From countless of pictures, sketches, and words, everything he did was to go along with his small short stories. He sketched out a small Erza sitting by the ocean, another drawing of her on the grass with a ladybug occupying her fingertip, and also an older Erza, lying down on a private beach along with her 'Fairy Tail' members.

Jellal kept count on how many friends she knew, exactly how many members were there, and who associated with the red-head the most. The trio, he's found out the most was Lucy Heartphilia, a fairly new and popular writer. Natsu Dragneel, Lucy's boyfriend and one of the elites of Fairy Tail, and last but not least, Gray Fullbuster, Natsu's best friend and part time model, not to mention his little sister's current lover.

Jellal had to keep these three in mind, for which they were Erza's closest friends overall. He needed to know their relationship towards her, to see how close they are, how they react together and how Erza changed within these years because of them. Somehow, these pictures became memories as if he was there with her—seeing her tranquil face so calm and so perfect…the sight itself remained inside of his soul and screamed out to her with everything in his being.

He pursed his lips before placing more black and white print-outs of Natsu and Gray into his personal _'Relationship Tree' _with his beloved Erza framed above all the people she knew, including her friends in Fairy Tail and her relationship with the other guilds around the world. The maroon shaded wall was quickly filled with people Erza constantly spoke to, and those she considered her close friends and enemies. The hundreds of Polaroid photos were plastered around others on who were related and how they knew Erza during her time in Magnolia.

Stapling Natsu's face a couple of times onto the wooden board, he frowned at the scenery, especially at the pink-headed lad he'd come to despise so much. The green-eyed monster was lingering and treading deeply into his veins and it didn't feel right at all because he wasn't fond of jealousy. There were times when he constantly held back the nerves to strike at least one of her dear friends, something to fray his nerves instead of continuously wanting to stab or break the nearest inanimate object in his house, possibly causing a stir for the nosy neighbors around this area.

There was an old rumor that made his mood go down completely. According to the grapevine, Natsu and Erza had dated a long time ago. Though it didn't work out very well since they were the best of friends and wanted it to remain that way. However, although it was old, fake and forgettable news, it still bothered him to the point of no return because he abhorred false answers and questions stringing along his head. Happy that it became false news, Jellal relaxed immediately with another hot cup of coffee, a daily magazine, and a new food course to test out before working on it. Besides, rumors are rumors, and they were just a form of drama spreading into old High school hallways just to bring some type of entertainment for everyone.

The last thing he wanted was to be _anyone's _form of enjoyment.

Wincing a bit, thanks to the stapler that made a small wound on his finger. "Rumors…I despise rumors." Jellal mumbled tiredly as he licked his fingertip since it trailed a line of blood. As soon as it was removed with his tongue, he instantly traced the large portrait of Erza's lips. The man smiled brightly as he looked at Erza's beaming face gazing upon her friends; the sun almost blinding the camera, her friends sitting on the sand while her hair remained wet from the ocean. The picture was no more than three months ago when summer came to make a visit in Fiore. He took the picture during his long week vacation from his business and made copies as soon as he took dozens of her little trip that day. If anything were to happen to these photos, (Only because he tends to lose things although he wasn't clumsy or anything) He decided to make many copies just in case.

He felt like a thief in the night that just successfully gotten away with many treasures that was worth millions. The delicious thrill running up and down his veins as he stared at the ethereal beauty, the red-headed woman will always continue to entrance him over and over again, and he was never going to get tired of it. Erza Scarlet should be cherished by the entire nation of the United States…no, the whole _world. _She was a gorgeous woman who was a complete femme fatale in his heart; she was more mysterious and valuable than _Mona Lisa _herself. His angel had a serene—yet stern voice that just lured others into her trap, the majestic Titania catching her prey. She was just too precious and worthy for him to just be right there with her. To stand beside her and be her complete equal–Jellal yearned for that day to come.

"No one likes rumors…" He said softly, putting new film inside his old-fashioned Nikon camera. "Do you like rumors Erza…? Do you?" He questioned with a dreamy expression while looking at another photo, his mind dead set on the woman who looked back at him with a wonderful imprinted smile. With a coherent huff, the corner of his lips turned into a frown almost immediately. Backing away from the wall, he smoothly began removing his black tight shirt and exposing the rest of his tanned, scarred build to the numerous brown eyes of Erza's in his room.

Sure, he'd gotten overenthusiastic with her pictures, but Jellal couldn't help capturing the enigmatic succubus on camera. Apparently, he loved the idea of having Erza watch and peep at his every move since she pretty much did that in his short naps. The wonderful _Titania, _watching…lingering, following him with a hint of curiosity that she was always too afraid to confess about—the daily nightmares that she soothingly removed with the small palm of her hand. Erza usually was the type to beat around the bush before asking something, but after the years and months of hearing and watching _this _older, sophisticated Erza. She became blunt, kind in her own way, and very strict when it came to her work and friends. Possibly a mother figure to her friendly trio, and he was glad that at least that very part of her personality didn't change.

"_We're finally free."_

_**Ba-dump**_

The soft quiet voice whispered softly, Jellal's eyes widened at the sudden voice in his head. The small, grotesque illusions blinking into different ones in the phase of his mind, and this made him feel a migraine treading in. _Badly._ His knees buckled instantly and he had practically fallen on the floor. His temples throbbed and his fingers were tingling with faint electricity—the numbness suddenly swelling into his hands; and before Jellal even knew it, the waterfall of sweat was reeling down his body, profusely. Jellal nearly cursed out loud, he was getting another panic attack. The beat and pain in chest was feeling hollow and the organ of his heart and lungs were making it hard to breathe.

_**Ba-dump**_

The quick image of a large body floating away in the ocean. The pool of crimson… the moonlight witnessing the horrible events of that night.

_**Ba-dump**_

A little girl with red short hair running towards him…

"_Jellal…Jellal, where are you?"_

_**Ba-dump**_

"Tch…!" Jellal's body made contact with the floor completely. He was writhing painfully as if someone twice his weight was lying on top of him. His eyes were going blurry with tears and the cursed tattoo felt as if it were being lit on fire; and the quick vision of death impair the right side of his face.

_**Ba-dump**_

"_We're finally free..Jellal."_

Jellal felt the whites of his eyes enclose into pitch black, everything sweetly visible was quickly fading into the darkness the more he kept on blinking. His body was beginning to ache all over, and the swelled tears that stung horrendously fell into the valley of temples; his throat hoarsely shouting out for help to every little Erza in his room.

* * *

It took awhile before Jellal even noticed that his cell-phone kept on ringing to a familiar, kiddy tune and he cursed his luck when he was uncomfortably placed on the floor, permanent fetal position and his body felt strained while he rolled his shoulders, making him realize that he was in the slouched position for quite awhile. Jellal slowly stood up, the tune loudly ringing throughout the room and his head was still throbbing due to the aching memory of his childhood forcing his way onto his head again.

"Fuck…" He muttered, his hand slowly making its way to the right side of his eye. Rough fingertips slowly tracing the unique design that's been haunting his life since he was a little boy.

"Fuck…fuck, _fuck!" _Jellal banged the floor in anger, his lips pursed. This had to be about the third panic attack he had within these past few weeks, and he was slowly getting worried on what was going on with his body. If the familiar voice had easily set off his panic attack, he could just imagine the damage a full memory could do to him.

To quickly get rid of the annoying bubbly tune echoing in the air, he reached for the damn thing. Looking at the large amount of missed calls, and the late timing, Jellal realized he had passed out for almost two hours. _Wait, is that even healthy? _He thought again before hearing the ugly ringtone echo once more. Exactly what had he told his employees about messing with his phone? Flipping it open, he realized who the caller was and prepared himself a good scolding from his young co-worker who was no doubt _pissed _from whatever she was dealing with.

"…Ha?" He hissed painfully before rubbing the back of his skull, the anger quickly subsiding.

He nearly winced at the loud tone attacking the left side of his ear. _"It's Meredy, Jellal! I've been calling you all day and not once have you called me back!"_ Jellal rolled his dark eyes and sighed mentally before propping himself onto his bed. _I wonder why, _He folded an arm behind his head and watched the painted ceiling crack on its own, peeling itself from the earlier paint. Instantly, he began to dig into his pockets for a loose cigarette. He lit the small thing with his Zippo and took a deep breath of the cancer-stick; watching the polluted haze dance into the air.

Jellal then realized for a moment that he zoned out, _"Hello? HELLO? Damn it Jellal! If you don't answer me I will vandalize the store and make Gajeel deform it into a piercing, tattoo shop. Don't test me Boss, I have connections with Levy!"_

Jellal practically snorted. "Meredy, you don't have the heart to do it, cooking is your specialty and I know you love your job...besides," His eyes went lidded with a small smirk. "What pink-haired beauty will be there for me whenever I want to hear that _wonderful_ voice every morning, evening, and night? Personally, it keeps me going." He winced slightly in despair. Ultear was going to kill him sometime this week. It was a disgusting habit of his that he usually had to go to the limit of lying to his co-worker that she had a great voice. Of course, it was the total opposite since she pretty much sang like a man sobbing from castration.

He heard her scoff loudly, and in a way Jellal can already tell she was pouting and denying that heavy blush in her face. _"Hey! I love my job very much. But if a certain blue-haired boss of mine doesn't pay me by the end of this month, I suggest he sleeps with one eye open before this pink-haired beauty scoops your eyeballs out with a spoon. Understand!?" _An awkward, small pause. _"Wait! Uh...um...so you... you like my voice? Like, really, like my voice?"_

"Ah…your voice brings my mood right up, Meredy. I'm surprised you're not in a choir course of some sort, the church of Magnolia will be glad to have you." Pure sarcasm lacing within his voice. "Besides," He inhaled again as he moaned in pain due to his lower back ache. "Why do you need a raise anyway? I've not gotten much money left since the health inspectors came and bombarded me with questions and criticism. Meredy, you of all people should know that. I'm surprised my store is still standing after Ultear hasn't cleaned up the kitchen that one time. I got blown away by Evergreen's yelling, not the best of times to deal with an angry critic who takes sanitation and food to the heart…not to mention, pregnant too."

The woman on the other line laughed, obviously not catching the mocking tone like the ditzy little teenager she was. _"I'm surprised you didn't fire Ultear for that, you looked so exhausted that day too. Well, besides talking about my beautiful voice, I would most likely sing every morning to awake your slumber, my dear, dear boss." _His face scrunched up for a few seconds. "_I guess I should get straight to the point right? The reason why I think I deserve a raise is because I work hard and I'm a little late with my Rent and bills. I'm honestly thinking about bunking in with Ultear since the superintendent cut off the heat and water…"_

The cigarette bopped up and down as he continued speaking. "So you're finally facing reality, _miss_, _I-think-I'm-an-adult-because-I-got-accepted-to-coo king-school-at-the age of seventeen._ Don't blame me for your tardiness in paying rent and bills. Face it like a man."

Meredy gasped harshly and Jellal held the urge to laugh. _"But I'm not a man! It's your fault and you know it Jellal!"_ The blue haired man sighed with little appreciation before rubbing the ash onto a crystal tray. Instantly, he skimmed a hand through his hair as he placed the phone on the nightstand, instantly pressing the speaker button.

"Exactly how much of a raise are we speaking?"

"_Forty-five hundred jewels for this upcoming week."_

_This upcoming week? _Jellal raised a blue brow before letting his eyes slowly glide onto the isolated calendar occupying the wall. "The fifteenth of November? We have a job that day, an important one that we _can't _miss."

He felt a deadly silence in the conversation. _"We do? But I need to pay before I get back from work and find an eviction notice. I've been struggling with money these past few days…Ugh, I need to take a shower, I smell like mildew…"_ Jellal hummed in agreement, easily understanding her situation. Living in Magnolia was beginning to get quite tough since everything was beginning to get expensive nowadays. The economy was turning horrible these past few months and never had he had to pay so much for gas in return.

"Juvia spoke to me and told me she needs help in the Fairy Tail Manor, apparently Mirajane has gotten married and is out in her honeymoon. I'm guessing you know Mirajane, since she is the hostess of Fairy Tail, but now Juvia's decided to burden herself with the task of hosting a charity event and every elite guild and club is going to the Manor. This is a big deal for us, Meredy."

A curious tone went through his ear, _"Oh, Mirajane Strauss? Yeah, I heard about it through the news! That's wonderful for her. Oh, so your little sister's never hosted before? Knowing her… she must be a wreck right now..no offense."_

"None taken. She's never planned anything extravagant before and that's what scares me." He breathed another powder of smoke. "I just came back a few hours ago from soothing her little meltdown, she's been going a little crazy these past few days preparing and screaming at the others." He winced at the poor memory of the woman running to him with tears, not to mention strained eyes and a staff slowly backing away from her as if she'd gone insane.

Jellal heaved a breath, "Point is, our job is to make the food, cater, and serve the guests. If possible, Ultear might have to bartend again since Fairy Tail's been running short on cash as well. The council is being cruel to them as always and won't support them much due to Fairy Tail's rioting behavior."

"_Ah...I've seen the tabloids. But shouldn't you at least persuade them? I mean, you are…famous, Jellal. The council loves you and all."_ The teenage girl spoke quietly.

Jellal didn't miss the disappointment in her voice and smiled a little. The council always followed his every order, but this wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "I have." He said, in all honesty. "Too many times… they believe I'm siding with Fairy Tail and won't listen to me anymore." He scratched his head. "By the time our shift ends, your money will be given, but that's all I can say for now."

The hopeful tone of the teenager getting excited made him smile._ "…Really? Are you honestly not being cruel to me, Jellal? I'm in no mood to get teased…"_

"No, I'm not. I'll give you your check in due time. I promise. In return, you prove me a hardworking caterer in this nightly event. No mistakes and no arguing with Ultear."

A high-pitched squeal. _"You won't be disappointed Jellal! I promise! Thank you so much!"_

Jellal inhaled deeply as he watched the butt of the cigar shred into ashes. "You're welcome, and goodnight Meredy." His thumb getting ready to press the button.

"_Wait, boss!"_

A thin blue brow rose a bit. "Hmm?"

"…_Have you been getting any sleep? You've been looking so tired these past few days."_

Jellal paused his movements and almost choked thanks to the unexpected question. He then smirked a bit, if Meredy noticed his exhaustion then Ultear had as well. "Ah_…_somewhat. My age is probably getting to me."

"_Believe it or not boss, you are a good-looking for a twenty-eight year old. I lost count on how many classmates of mine wanted to get your number when you picked me up from school once." _He felt an awkward stillness overtake the phone. _"Have you tried any remedies or sleeping pills? They might help."_

The blue-haired man blinked slowly, feeling his eyesight go hazy due to the blurry edges. Jellal had started to throw a series of blinking to get the weariness off of him. "Sometimes I can but for a short limited amount of time. Two hours the most, and my body goes on autopilot sometimes."

"_Wait, are you saying that you sleepwalk? That's not good!_" Jellal yawned before rubbing his chin. He can feel a small blue stubble growing again, and he didn't like that. He'll have to shave it off the first thing in the morning. "I don't sleepwalk." Jellal was a little annoyed with the interrogations, but he knew this was Meredy's way of being worried about her loved ones.

"_Well, I can always recommend you my aunt…her name is Porlyusica—remember her? She's one of the best doctors in Magnolia and I'll be glad to tell her about your situation. I can get you something if you want, boss. It really doesn't help your appearance and body if you're so worn out like that. Believe it or not, but me and Ultear are… worried about you. You practically had a panic attack last time, remember?"_

Jellal grunted in response, debating if he wanted to tell Meredy that he just had another panic attack. Though the thought stopped as soon as it came, because knowing Meredy; she would blow a fuse no matter how bubbly and exaggerating she was sometimes.

"Thanks, Meredy. I appreciate it, but I should be fine with a little late night television and some coffee in the morning."

A sigh was heard. _"If that's what you say…alright boss, night. And please, please, think about my proposal, my aunt is a miracle worker...just, don't piss her off."_

Jellal smiled again. "So that's where you inherited your threatening abilities, huh? You have an interesting family, little Meredy."

"_Oh stop it, she's good at what she does. Anyway, good night."_

"Goodnight Meredy."

"_You too, boss. And please…take care of yourself and try to sleep."_

Jellal gave a small smile to himself as he murmured a promise that he will once again, try his best. After hanging up, Jellal steadily headed towards his desk—feeling that something was off, and he didn't realize what it was until Meredy spoke of sleep that he hadn't dared touch his journal at all today. Jamming open the old chestnut drawers, he spotted the small book and his brown eyes lit up in mesmerizing happiness. Fingers nearing into his pen, he grabbed the book and instantly sat onto his chair. He can already feel his body was beginning to scream of desire to sleep, but Jellal knew his mind was denying it for some reason.

After flipping a couple of pages, Jellal focused on nothing but the girl who enchanted his thoughts; his eyes closed and merely wanting to grasp that delusional hand of hers and letting her take him wherever she pleased. His insomnia almost forgettable until he opened his eyes.

Dear, Mavis. If only he can be with her right _now_.

* * *

(A/N): Yeah...Jellal's crazy. Anyway, I'm back! and this is pretty much my second story in the Gerza section, which I'm pretty excited about it since this plot has been stuck in my head for quite awhile (Probably about eight months now) and I'm finally posting it up because I for one, love this pairing, and two, they are perfect for dark, angsty stories. As you can probably see, this is the prologue and this story is actually deep. In order to not make anymore false promises, I can't say when's the next time I'm going to update. (Since I am juggling school and procrastination) But I will let you know I have every chapter planned out til' the very end. There will be approximately thirteen chapters including an epilogue. For now, enjoy the tip of the iceberg while I update on other things.

Also, thanks for reading. I would most likely want know what you think about it because it's been quite a long time since I last updated. Concrits are welcome since I don't really depend on Beta; so let me know of my spelling or grammar mistakes and such and I'll re-edit in a minute. Or an hour. Or a couple of days, since I am a lazy rat at times. Oh well, it happens. Take care everyone.


	2. Hopeless Wanderer

_******Warnings: **Non-con, Dark, Death, Violence, Obsession, OOC-ness, AU, Suspense, Bad language, abuse, cameos, and many graphical scenes._

* * *

_**Hopeless Wanderer**_

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_**.**_

"I just… sometimes I wonder what's going on with his head, you know? Yesterday, he walked here to work, Ultear. _Walked. _And we both know that he just doesn't _walk _to work—he lives approximately two miles away from here! And the guy practically left his car at home for three days now. There's gotta be something wrong with him, and I highly doubt this has something to do with his sleep!" The ravenette nodded for the umpteenth time as she continued to hear the teenager ramble on and on about their boss. Not that she wasn't used to the dramatic speeches of her lovely co-worker and best friend, but sometimes the girl ought to know that situations like this wasn't really any of her business, especially since their boss wasn't fond of people getting into his privacy.

"Maybe…maybe I should just contact my aunt, I mean…if I tell him about sleeping or taking medication he'd be annoyed with me again! But I feel the need to tell her about this... You know my aunt loves to help although she can be a little…_ruthless. _I mean, she specializes in all types of things, since she is pretty much a miracle worker." She suggested quietly. "Ultear, do you think I'm overreacting? I mean, I'm just a worried friend, and we both know sleep is something he really needs Ultear. We should get him a new bed or something! But a bed costs a lot of jewels though…" Meredy smacked the sticky annoying string of bubble gum against the wall of her cheeks. Her face turning into a slight frown as she gazed upon the window as if it were the cause of Jellal's current state.

"Or maybe…we should hire a chiropractor or something; I can probably get him a massage chair if I work overtime for a couple of days, with pay." Meredy recommended. "Probably his back is killing him or something; he was complaining that he was getting old anyway." The woman said over the pitter-patter sounds colliding with the window glass. The rain was horrific today, but the good thing was that it didn't stop them from doing what they both of them planned today.

The raven-haired female checked herself in the mirror once more, popping her lips as her favorite lavender lipstick complimented her pale, heart-shaped frame. The older woman turned to her side immediately and watched her young co-worker fidget with her newly bought dress they just got from what seemed like endless hours of shopping and trying out new branded clothes. It seemed that luck was on their side since there was a good sale going on for the holidays, so they bought the dresses that they've favored so they can try it out in Ultear's spacious apartment.

They needed to buy something extravagant for Fairy Tail's upcoming Masquerade event, and although they were catering, Jellal reminded them to dress the best they can—only because he wanted them not only to work, but to have fun as well. It was a good thing that they had a boss who considered their feelings as well, since Meredy was now interested in finding a boyfriend, while Ultear, herself…_well; _she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted yet.

Ultear heard the girl continue to babble while she observed the black, strapless dress she was wearing. Simply testing out the outfit if it went well with the practice makeup she was currently applying to her face. Turning around, she glanced at Meredy who looked like she were sitting on something uncomfortable, a small book of healing insomnia encased by her bright pink manicured hands.

"Well…" Ultear started, her voice filled with insecurity. "I agree with you. He has been looking very exhausted these past few days. But there might be a possibility that he's just stressed and doesn't know what to do about it." She suggested, but Meredy folded her arms in denial. "I mean, a new bed…isn't that a little too much? Besides, that means we have to go to his apartment to surprise him…and I hope you know that this is a very bad idea, Meredy. This is _Jellal's_ privacy were talking about, and our boss isn't the best one to pick on since he practically gives us a death glare if we go inside his office without knocking. Jellal may be our closest friend, but he's still our boss. He can get us fired within seconds if we interrupt that." Ultear said truthfully, but Meredy instantly caught the sight of sadness on her face.

"I guess the good thing is that, were his friends...right? I don't want to, but we should let him solve his own problems."

Meredy's mouth dropped open. "It's impossible for him to fire us… I—I mean, he loves us, Ultear! We practically know everything about Jellal? All I want for our boss is to have a good night's rest. Meaning we _can't _let him solve his own problems! He's dense sometimes…remember?" The pink-haired female exclaimed with an accused glare. "Besides, wouldn't you like to know more about Jellal? I mean, our boss is just so…so mysterious. We don't know much about him like we should've back then. Like…have you ever wondered if he's a cat person or a dog lover? Don't you want to know that tidbit of information?"

The older woman shrugged. "Does it even matter what kind of pet he would consider?"_ Although it would be pretty interesting to find out. _She thought, "I don't know, probably a cat. He likes his privacy and possibly doesn't like a loud-mouth dog barking for every little thing."

"What?" Ultear asked when Meredy stared blankly at her, curiosity forming on her round face when she turned to face the mirror again. "He seems to like cats…" She mumbled afterwards.

The pink-haired teen got off the plushy chair, placing her hands on her hips with a twitching, aggravating eyebrow. "_Well..._I, for one, think he's a dog person. Apparently, he smiles a lot and dog-lovers always smile! Not to mention that a true dog lover will probably stay up and do things with that dog. Hence, brings my perception on why he's having trouble sleeping..."

Ultear blinked and then narrowed her eyes, facing Meredy through the reflection. "He's a cat person, Meredy. The man wouldn't want a dog to ruin his house with piss and shit."

"Oh, and cats don't do the same? Would Jellal even appreciate seeing his couch and curtains scratched up thanks to a satisfaction of a freaking cat? Oh, and don't get me started on that nasty litter-box they use. _Ugh._" Meredy scoffed while rolling her eyes. Sometimes she swore her co-worker was always right when it came to these things.

The older woman hissed with anger as she went to fix her blush, "Oh, shall we _bet _on this?"

Meredy shared an evil smirk with Ultear, glaring at her as if she were planning something dangerous. "Bet on what? To see if he's a dog-lover? Cause I know he is and there's no way you're right." She stuck out her tongue, teasingly.

Ultear gasped and dropped the mascara brush, the attempt to throw the damn thing at her co-worker was very well working, but she didn't want to start another argument with the little witch. "You cretin! I knew him longer than you have!"

"_Pfft._ Oh by like a year, so what? I met him in my old job when I was a veterinary assistant! Mind you, he came in with a sick _dog._" Meredy said with a smug expression.

Ultear's eyes widened and those purple lips turned into a deadly smile. "I bet you that wasn't even his dog! Probably a friend's dog or whatever." Ultear placed a hand on her hip and shrugged. "Hmph_. _I doubt it either way."

"Doubt what? You're love for him? Because I'm sure you're still head over heels for our boss." Meredy giggled when the woman went flushed red with furious eyes.

Ultear avoided facing her co-worker. "It's not like that!"

Meredy nodded with a sly grin. "Oh, this kind of reminds me of something bittersweet. Like cherries—or no, better yet! Like the sad, tragic unrequited love stories that I can't stand. Personally, this reminds me of _Midnight Summer's Dream._ Only this time it's between two idiots who obviously like each other! I swear you guys are stupid to know that there's obvious tension in the air. Can't say I know what it is though, possibly _sexual _tension? _Oo la, la._"

Ultear flushed immediately. "You've actually read that book?" The woman shook her head. "Sadly that's nothing new; you were always into romance..." She paused slightly, the early embarrassment sinking in her mind. "Oh god...and for the last time, Meredy, I don't like him like that!"

Meredy caught the look in Ultear's eyes and moved to stand beside her. Grassy green eyes lit up, making Ultear suspicious of Meredy's actions. That is, until the girl said: "Oh stop denying it. You love that man since you first met him. _But, _only if a certain someone can admit that their helplessly in love…I can help you claim his heart, you know."

Ultear stopped her movements and raised an eyebrow at the young woman before rolling her eyes. "Claim his heart? _Oh _you sound utterly ridiculous right now."

"Hey, no I don't!" Meredy whined with a pathetic pout on her face. "I can help you and Jellal out! Like…getting you guys hitched or something! Wouldn't you actually like to see him happy? I mean, I don't want to see you alone… and neither do I want him by himself…marrying his business store and suffering until he withers into his own food. C'mon! You're twenty five and he's twenty eight! Do something already!" The girl elbowed Ultear playfully. "Let's actually go with this. You'll be the perfect wife for him and I can be the wonderful fairy godmother who is the cause of seeing little Ultear's and Jellal's running around the house."

"You will be a horrible fairy godmother…" Ultear blushed and turned to look at her with glum, yet curious black eyes. "I mean…he doesn't even see me that way, Meredy. I'm his _employee_ of all people. I've been practically ignored by him in cooking school and he just acknowledged me when I applied to work for him, what makes you think he'll like me out of the blue, especially now?"

Meredy's smile brightened, her teeth gleaming in delight. "Well, I don't see why not," The teenager cupped the woman's cheek unexpectedly, receiving wide eyes in return. "I mean, who wouldn't! With that cute, naughty look you got on right now, he'll melt at the sight of you when the party happens tomorrow. Heck, maybe he won't even look at no one else but you. Just actually _talk _to him this time. Give him some insight and show that you actually care about him. More than friends, I mean."

Ultear felt her face heat up at the thought of having Jellal gaze at her as if she were the only being in the world. In many ways, she wished he would look at her like that constantly, give her an idea that he actually returned her feelings. Though it pretty much broke her heart that he seemed to be either turning the other way, ignoring her feelings for him. Or he must've possibly known about her crush about him and just decides to mess with her head just for the fun of it.

In all honesty, Ultear hoped it'd be the latter.

"Come on," Meredy held out her hand to the older woman with a small smile on her face. "Let's go get out of these tight clothes and make some butter cake since it seems that Jellal finished working on the rest of the desserts and whatnot. Stupid boss… and I was really looking forward to finally sneaking in a bite of his infamous strawberry cheesecake. What an evil man I tell you! He almost bit my head off when I was one scoop away from taking a piece of it."

Ultear shook her head with a familiar smile. "That's because he worked on it for weeks back when back in cooking school. You should've seen him practice the recipe until he dropped dead. Even the higher ups and chefs couldn't stop talking about how amazing it was. I've been eager to taste it as a volunteer since our uptight chef loved it, but Jellal never lets me, nor anyone else try it out."

"Oh well," Meredy sighed as she slowly began to pull down the tiny zipper that belonged to her floral mini dress. "I guess it's like him to be so dedicated to his work. Maybe this time he can try not to look like he was about to keel over and pass out." The woman then went on to shimmy away from her dress, displaying a wonderfully curved body. "Now that I think about it, I wonder why he added Strawberry cheesecake to the menu… Isn't he lactose intolerant?"

Ultear closed her eyes as started to unzip her dress as well.

"I really don't know, Meredy."

Now that Ultear thought about it, maybe Meredy was pretty much right. Although Ultear assumed that they didn't really need to know anything about their manager—since they were pretty much Jellal's closest friends and the ones he hung around the most. It disheartened her a little to even think that way, but it was quite true and it made her want to smack herself silly for realizing that she was in love with a man who she had _thought_ she known for most of her life. Either Jellal was changing into a whole different man, or they really didn't know Jellal as they thought they did.

_Just what is happening to him…? _Ultear thought as she turned to the window that was currently being showered by the pouring rain. _Since when has he became so secretive…?_ Ultear always wondered this. Only because Jellal always became uptight with privacy, not only that, but the man looked like he barely slept. His skin was beginning to pale, his eyes were bruising automatically, and he'd been snapping at her and Meredy lately. _Never_ had he been so irritated to the point where he'd actually yell at them—in all honesty, Ultear believed he never shouted at them before.

"I just..." Ultear took a deep breath, the feeling of slight frustration building inside of her. "I just don't know."

* * *

Jellal felt his head throb in a quickening pace; pounding deeper and deeper as if a hammer was breaking into the base of his skull. The erotic beat of the heart pounding automatically as he felt his mind ponder into old thoughts, something similar to a stranger who lost all hope but continued to travel thanks to endless lies that filled its head. If anything, Jellal was a hopeless man that couldn't stop thinking, wandering, and learning. Despite the fact that he felt imprisoned in the dark, infinite pit of his mind, he still kept on walking desperately in the endless lane of forbidden memories and hallucinating truths.

Everything always felt jagged around the edges. The sudden urges of knowing something was bothering him or acknowledging his thoughts was slowly and painfully killing him, only because it felt wrong—like trying to force a puzzle piece even though it didn't belong there. Many deterred illusions in that desolated island..._something _changed. Something drastic, because his ghost-like Erza began to look at him differently with every time he visited his memories. That rich, gorgeous smile and dirty brown eyes that were filled with so much passion…so much love, turned teary-eyed with despair, and the way she cried and screamed during the moonlit nights whenever they were together was something of pure…pure_ terror_. Night after night, there were mysterious bruises appearing on her smooth skin, the large injury of her eye coming out of nowhere was a surprise to him, and the large gashes of blood oozing out of nowhere.

His mind was fucking with him.

There would be times where Jellal stood up all night in order to avoid these thoughts. Despite the fact that he was beyond exhausted, wanting to know what happened to his sleeping ability. Why these…illusions were faint, who was hurting her, and why she stayed away from him—looking at him with wide eyes fulfilled with horror and pain.

It was unbearable.

Jellal thought about her too many times, saw her everywhere, touched her everywhere; knew what she loathed, knew what she craved—her weaknesses—her love for the guild. Yes, and he even saw past that façade running on her face constantly.

Back then, in a time that felt so utterly blissful despite the beatings, the insults, and the lives that were put on the line. They were lovers at such a very young age and it was unlikely that she couldn't forget it and neither could he. His mind became a sanctuary of random unethical things that changed from good to bad depending on his mood.

When the small nights of insomnia began, everything became a story of two kids slowly distancing themselves from the rest of the world and letting their curiosity get to them. To be truthful, Jellal felt the heated passion wrestle into one of his many brain cells, and the small, little pecks that pricked brightly within their lips. And if it wasn't the kisses, then it were the small, caressing touches of her ragged shirt riding over her belly button—the soft entrancing feel of her golden skin, her supple lips parting, and the sweet salty taste of the water cooling the burning lump of hickeys surrounding their necks and other places. He can practically remember the red sunset slowly departing within their secret cave of the island. The cooling sea water of the ocean rising onto her back as he softly kissed her neck, her lips, her temples and the dreaded tears of pain all away until she forgot about their situation of being..._slaves_.

Childhood memories or not, Jellal felt increasingly aware of how wrong it was to think of things like this.

But then again, these were his thoughts. It wasn't really illegal. Besides, no one, but he and his journal knew about this.

"_We're finally free."_

Jellal despised those three words with every blood cell in his body. The sentence became an erratic ball of nerves that couldn't entirely bring up the answers he wanted. During his stay in his apartment, the deadly beliefs of this usually happened during his sleep, but this time, he always heard a young version of himself repeat those words, which shocked him in many ways. He can hear Sho say it, Simon, Milliana, and even Wally repeat those words like some sort of mantra. But oddly for him, he never thought he'd see himself repeat it—his childish tone saying it like it was the key to all their answers; a voice filled with determination as if they fought for all their lives, rebelling against the society as if they finally won against a war.

Jellal hadn't felt complete, since his childhood memories were far, and sometimes close; though most of them were fuzzy. Fortunately, the voices were clearer than the blue sea around the Tower of Heaven. The endless sounds of trees swaying in the wind. The tide rising onto the glassy, rough touch of the sand. Even the echoes…the many echoes of what seemed like loud, talkative noises when they were most likely screams booming in his thoughts. There was much, much screaming and shouting; pretty comparable to a parent yelling at a child as if the kid had done something wrong and was put up for the blame.

These visions burned inside his chest, to even think of these thoughts because it deemed him that it wasn't true. That nothing in life, especially horrid nightmares of an abandoned Island had never _existed._

Oh, but it did. That much he knew, just the memories were pretty much gone in different sections of his head.

Like for one: Jellal knew blood was involved. Whenever his eyes were closed, these memories were always showered with blood, but despite the numerous amounts of horrid illusions or panic attacks he had, this one seemed so bloody…so real. The sight of these dreams were blurry, but he can practically feel the cherry—infested fluids flow onto the ocean waves—attaching and sticking to each other like cheap glue. Like a wandering small animal, the blood stayed there a little longer on the shore before disappearing into the endless sea of darkness. It was an unrecognizable feeling; for which it was night time and he saw himself alone, cold, dark and distinguished. Jellal found it was weird, because in most of these…dreams, he was never _alone_.

"_Jellal…"_

Jellal saw the fuzzy vision of a small version of himself holding onto the small metal shovel, which was occasionally used for duties such as slave labor. However, for some strange reason, the metallic part became tainted with gruesome flesh that didn't belong to him. The bareness of his small feet wrapped into the heated sand and dark blood. Jellal felt a little nauseous at the sight of the unidentified body. No doubt the corpse was an adult male: no older than his late forties and for what reason, he must be an evil man. Because Jellal knew that their must've been a good reason why some dead body was lying no more than two feet away from him, though it was possible he wouldn't understand. There was a soul ruthlessly snatched away because of something the man did, and it was sickening to even dream of things like this.

Jellal felt so utterly disgusted at these thoughts.

The sight of these reveries were blurry and so faint, yet he can actually _see _the cherry—infested fluids get attached to the ocean waves, instantly pulling away the soaking redness of the body. It was an unrecognizable day; for which it was very dark that night.

The blue, chapped lips. The heavy body of the water pouring onto the corpse because of the high tide, and the black and blue bruises that covered his face. The blood around his wrists was skinned badly as if encased by rough rope or very tight cuffs. The skull was obviously bashed open; this looked very similar to a coconut spilling water contents out of the shell; only difference was that the skull itself was displaying a meaty porridge of blood and the raw strings of the brain.

Everything else was practically damaged beyond repair. The man's eye sight was completely gone; to the extent that they were pouring out of their own sockets like a fleshy yo-yo string. Something hard and sharp must've slashed across the man's eyes before giving the deadly blow to the head. Just by the way the angle of the man was placed in; it was possible that someone must've dragged him along instead of carrying him there and resting them onto the beach like a sleeping bride.

This was pure cruelty.

Jellal's original self, felt so utterly disgusted that he just wanted to throw up. This….It wasn't like him to even picture these kinds of things.

Unless…._unless…_

"_Jellal…Jellal, where are you?"_

Jellal took in a heavy, deep breath—as if in synchronously, his eyes opened as well. The distant imagination brought him to a state where his heart was thrashing madly against the bony cage of his ribs, his mouth gasping for oxygen like never before. It took a couple of moments for him to register the fact that he took no more then another two minute nap on the isolated bench. His neck felt uncomfortably strained and he felt so engagingly pissed at the fact that he once again fell asleep in public. He was a little thankful that no one walked the streets around midnight and decided that staying home instead of being outside in the cold like him, since the guards around the harbor would probably question his duties around here.

Jellal blinked a few more times; trying to adjust where he was at that very moment. Though the heavy sounds of the thunder boom into the sky pretty much did that for him. Even though he finished nearly two bottles of Red bull and a can of Cola, it had not done anything for a remedy of caffeine, if anything it made everything worse—bringing up his sugar levels to a sky-rocketing result.

Throwing a small yawn, Jellal stretched and stood up instantly, ignoring the heavy rain pounding deeply onto his face and body. His feet took him to the cobblestone pathway by the bridge in Hargeon Town, not too far from the Long Island pier. Coffee eyes slowly watching every nightly interaction going on around him. His body facing the black, tainted ocean that clapped ferociously into the air with every move, the heavy thunder that caused reverberation and the rain continued to melt onto every object at his every sight.

Although his mind and heart were listening to the frequent beats of his heart, the lovely cold touch of rain peppering his face made everything feel so clear, so soothing.

Within seconds he heard beeps breaking through his right ear, the connection of Wi-Fi breaking due to the horrible weather of what he can figure was an electric storm. Jellal assumed the weather wasn't supposed to be this bad, since weather channels had the tendency to lie sometimes. But it appears that they were right this time. The connection of his old Bluetooth was beginning to act up again, so he was forced to buy a new model right away. Not that he was complaining, especially since this new model was making it a lot easier to peep inside Erza's cell-phone and scoop data into his own phone.

Scarlet was currently at dinner with Lucy at the moment, enjoying sweets in one of her favorite hang-out spots, a restaurant that goes by the name of 8-Island that was known for its international meals. Though Jellal enjoyed his share of delectable sushi and varieties of Swedish chocolate, he wasn't going to make it any harder on himself to actually go inside the restaurant since it was a bit small and empty; especially at this time at night. Even though he would love to see the love of his life chat away, he knew it would be hard to hide from her since he knew the redhead was the type to quickly point out anything out of the ordinary like some detective trailing for clues.

So Jellal decided to stay outside by the Ferry docks, enjoying the marvelous sight of lightning mirror onto the plum shaded skies and the heavy rain pounding into the ocean. The harsh cold wind was calming him down a bit, despite the fact that he wore nothing but a plain outfit; a black leather jacket, jeans and a dark cap to disguise his cobalt spikes. Jellal couldn't help but point out that tonight was such a beautiful night, though quite cold, wet, and the thunder's loud and furious rage was as agonizingly terrible as always, he'd never felt this quite comfortable in many of his days.

Tonight… was the beginning of something special; since he's been working in his catering business the whole morning and afternoon, he'd finally finished early to dedicate his time to her.

Using his free hand, he looked at the new text messages inserting into his phone. The look on his face turned into a grim expression as the data seemed interesting enough to have a few new people enter Erza's contact list. Bluesnarfing wasn't something he did so often, but he did love the fact that data and new personal information came very handy when it came to hacking cell-phones; he considered it a good thing that her new cell phone made everything so easy and accessible.

_Hm..? Who's this? _Searching thoroughly through his cell-phone, he clicked the contact number and found the small face a little familiar but couldn't recognize the man. If anything, he looked like a member of Blue Pegasus, (a famous Guild that served somewhere in Paris, which they were also pretty much known for their sense of style and attractive looks,) But that only meant this was for business purposes only, and Jellal felt a little relieved since most of the men who harbored in Blue Pegasus were considered womanizers. His Scarlet never liked womanizers unless she dealt with them for the sake of the guild. This would most likely have her putting up a front filled with fake smiles and small chit-chat only because she was an S-class elite member and an important member to Fairy Tail.

_To Erza:_

_Mon cher,__ Titania. I've been looking forward to our meeting tomorrow for the party. Bob has made arrangements for us and it took awhile to write back since Ren was actually supposed to contact you, but had a date with Sherry again and I've been busy as of late. Eve says 'Hello' and misses your presence completely. The rest of us will be able to talk again at the Manor, am I correct? Too bad Mira isn't there; Jenny was hoping to challenge her again for another modeling contest. We shall arrive tomorrow in the afternoon since our schedule was delayed once again. Our condolences for our last meeting, hopefully we can reacquaint with Makarov tomorrow night. Either way, please text back as soon as possible._

_Love, Hibiki._

Jellal clicked the photo, examining Hibiki's short spiked hair and lecherous eyes before focusing on the text message a little longer. Just why did he have a feeling that everything became so much more complicated than need be? Leave it to his little sister who hadn't uttered a word on how many guests were going to show up at this Masquerade occasion, now he felt the urge to head back to his work and tend to his rations a little more. Maybe he should've created dozens more of caviar and a few more vegetarian meals since not everyone loved to eat meat. The caterer reminded himself to do just about that in the morning since it was nearing around midnight already.

He then threw a small, tired sigh. His body felt a little buzzed since it hadn't had the time to rest at all these past few weeks, not to mention he felt like going on one of his late night stake-outs, only because it's been awhile. Erza was relaxing a bit with Lucy, since she hadn't had the time to spend time with her female best friend at all due to her busy working schedule, but now he found out that she was going on a vacation for the time being, until Makarov said so otherwise.

Copying and pressing more buttons on the touch screen, Jellal felt the sudden urge to hear her sweet delicious voice. Though he highly doubted that her cell was on; he felt the need that peeping into a conversation with whomever she was having with seemed interesting enough to lure him to tap into her cell-phone. But he decided that he'd do it later and peep into her text messages for the meantime.

Scrolling down on his screen, he saw a list of unread and read messages, an unknown number seemed to confuse him and he began to pry into it immediately.

_To Erza:_

_You're scared? Scared of what...Erza?_

_From T:_

Jellal raised an eyebrow, a look of concern and bewilderment crossed his face. _T? Who's T?_ His eyes analyzed the text once more with accurate speed.

…And scared? His Scarlet…was _scared?_ Of what? Of who? Jellal felt his body lean into the metal railing of the pier. To think Erza, the Titania of Fairy Tail was afraid of someone…or something, seemed to interest him beyond his limits.

Going back up on the long list of text messages, he found another one. But this one was marked that it was already read.

_To Erza:_

_Do you feel like you moved on? Is it still haunting you till' this day?_

_From T:_

Jellal read Erza's side of the story.

_To T:_

_I always feel watched. Call it paranoia of some sort, but I feel the need to speak to you about this. Although I am not fond of therapists…I feel as if you're the only one who can understand my current situation. In a way, it's like I can never move on with my life without having these nightmares._

Dark orbs nearly popped out of their sockets. _Nightmares? She's having them too? _His eyes went lidded in suspicion. _But nightmares of who, my love?_ Jellal asked mentally; shuddering with delight due to the cold air and the new information absorbed into his head.

Now this has certainly caught his eye.

Clicking the small black device on his ear, the blue light went on. And thus he finally began to hear their conversation.

—_I've decided that he was working on new things. I haven't had the time to even buy a dress yet for the masquerade. I'm guessing Natsu and Gray are already prepared for the given speech?" _Erza said with that same familiar tone that Jellal learned to love so much.

"_I think so; Natsu's being…well, Natsu. Gray's been helping out Juvia, and Levy went out to get some medication for Makarov since he's still has the flu." _He heard the Fairy Tail blonde say with uncertainty in her voice. _"I'm guessing you have a date to the Masquerade? Natsu's been going crazy with the fact that I've finally told him about it. Hopefully he doesn't embarrass me in front of the whole world about the news."_

Jellal can practically see the blissful smile placed on Erza when she spoke again. Even the amusement was heard well through her soft tone._ "So he's excited to be a father for the first time. What's the problem this time, Lucy?"_

A small sigh of content. _"I just…I guess I'm a little nervous...you know? My first book signing is due this week, I'm pregnant with the guy I love, and we have yet to tell my dad about it, and I just know he'll go ballistic like always. He hated Natsu from the moment he laid eyes on him."_

"_I see, but you're father should be able to understand..." _The redhead paused, and Jellal listen to the car-door unlock, _"Lucy, the limo just arrived. I'll be able to call you when I get to the Fairy Tail manor, if not, I should be in bed."_

The writer hummed in understanding, _"Sure Erza, don't even worry about it, you need the sleep anyway. Good night Erza."_

"_Goodnight Lucy,"_

And the phone clicked. Automatically placing him out of the conversation.

Jellal turned off the transmitter and removed it from his ear and into his pocket. _I suppose my little Titania is staying at the manor for the rest of the week, _Jellal thought with a click of his tongue. _I need to set up more things for tomorrow, I even have to distant myself in order to not be pointed out like the obvious, but…I don't want to. _

He dreamt for this moment. To be close to his Scarlet, have her be right in front of him, her smile wide and happy, her beautiful brown eyes facing him and no one but him…

Jellal looked at the dreaded dark sky again, the bright bolts in the dark sky making the ocean twinkle quite beautifully yet all the more dangerous, although the horrid thunder and lightning clashed along with the waves, the scenery seemed to give him a sweet, senile hope aching deep inside of his chest. The firm line of his lips forming into a depressing frown as the wetness of the skies poured onto him continuously.

He decided to leave it to fate's hands tomorrow night, since destiny's unexpected plans made everything so much more interesting.

"Erza… I can't wait to finally see you again." He quietly said to himself, but since the thunder gave another loud boom in response, Jellal left to go home.

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(A/N): And so appears the first official chapter in Red Velvet; and the chapter is named after the song from Mumford and Sons. The song got kind of catchy in the end so...bam. It went with it.

Anywho, for those who are confused about the setting, this story is a mix of Real life AU but not entirely. I use the terms for money as 'jewels' I bring up Magnolia and Hargeon town and other things from Fairy Tail so the story doesn't feel quite off from the original. And just to let you know for the sake of it, there was supposed to be an extra part in this story, whom I was suppose to add an extra character into this chapter but removed it because I believed it was too soon and would prefer to leave Jellal to himself. (I mostly cherish those moments when a character ponders to themselves.) Other than that, this chapter was pretty much everything what I imagined, even though I find it a little boring (Sorry if you do to) But trust me, I tried to make it a little more interesting with the text messages and thoughts, so bear with me on this. I will make sure it'll get better.

And again, I do apologize for errors and mistakes. Though I will pretty much re-edit everyday, so hopefully that won't be a problem. Questions? Ask them in reviews or just message me and I will be glad to answer as soon as possible.

I would also love to say thank you to the reviewers and the ones who favorited and followed along with Red Velvet. Your reviews and the love that was sent into my inbox made me all gushy inside ;3. I do appreciate them and love you guys so much for the support.

**BlackCatNeko999: **I'm so happy this story caught your interest, and believe it or not I'm happy you like the way I write, (I mostly don't cause' it's a habit, but still, thank you!) And I will NEVER stop writing, at least not anytime soon. Maybe go on hiatus, but I will always continue. So thank you so much for the first review! :D

**xxxMissAlicexxx: **Thank you so much for the review! And I do love the fact you like my writing! Means a lot to me because I usually find my writing style awkward and a bit hard to understand, but I'm very happy it went well with the story's atmosphere, and I'm glad you find Jellal's obsession quite impressive though sad. I too find it sad, but this is just the right emotion I want for this story, and thanks again for the feedback! ;3

**Madameredphantom: **Aw! Your review made me blush and had made me throw the cheesiest smile I can ever put on my face. I'm so glad you like my version of how I see 'Jerza'. Those two are the most unique pairings I have ever encountered, and I'm glad I started working on this story for people who enjoy some dark, obsessed stories. Not that I dislike fluff or happy stories with these two or any other couple, but sometimes it's just nice to see something different and bittersweet, especially when it comes to these two who practically scream with happiness. They're just so perfect to me. ;)

**Darkside Wolf: **I'm glad it's EEEEEEEEPPPPPIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCC enough for your tastes! Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I would be glad to try and keep this story awesome just for you! :D

**FictionForTheFans: **I'm glad you loved it so far, thanks so much for the review! :)

Until next time!


	3. Gods & Monsters

_**Warnings: Non-con, Dark, Death, Violence, Obsession, OOC-ness, AU, Suspense, Bad language, abuse, cameos, and many graphical scenes.**_

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_**Gods & Monsters**_

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"_This is heaven, what I truly want…"_

"_Its innocence lost."_

"…_Innocence lost." _

The song continued to play its estranged melody, somehow popular to the city folks of Magnolia and the young teens who were into those types of songs that spoke about sexual tension with a hint of rhythmic blues. It was a tune that had nearly brought him out of his misery, a song that felt somewhat mixed between sweet and bitter; but deliciously addicting either way.

Naturally, Jellal didn't like music like this; only because it was too seductive for his tastes; too…vivid for his thoughts. Though in all honesty, it stirred something familiar inside of him whenever he heard seductive—melancholy songs like this. It was obviously about drug addiction, sex, and the urge of not wanting to be innocent anymore.

Maybe that's what irritated him about the song.

Of course the people amongst him thought the complete opposite; there was a dramatic change that came upon their faces when the song came up. Somehow like the rare events of mysterious deaths linking to each other.

The beat began to form some electricity in the air, automatically making his right foot tap slightly to the heavenly piano, recognizing the lyrics with every treble and bass popping into his ears. Only difference was that this time the music cover was based on acoustic, and it was better than the heavy auto-tune echoing through the tunnel of his ears.

His body was signaling him that he found the song interesting enough to hear again; even the bodies around him were dressed like something you'd expect in a prom night. Formal, possibly slutty with a sense of class on the side. However, the bodies weren't filled with teenagers; mostly masked young adults who were responsible enough to know what they want for their dreams… and surprisingly, he can easily see that they wanted to earn them as soon as possible.

The indigo skies spiraled into a wave of bruising purple and black, the large gray clouds now invisible to the world while the permanent sea of gold and silver glued onto the night sky like magnets to a refrigerator. It was another gorgeous night, and he couldn't describe it any better. Jellal felt noted that the night felt calm, like a mother's warm soft hand caressing his cheek with every ounce of love in their fingertips.

If only he knew that exact feeling.

Jellal had to admit that the huge yard was decorated so beautifully that his mouth had actually gaped open a couple of times. Even the space was large enough to fill a wedding with hundreds of guests; it was gorgeously designed, and must've taken months to plan everything from Juvia's standpoint. Because it was an autumn theme, the atmosphere was calm with scented pinecones, golden, red and brown leaves, and everything else? Delightful.

Bright bolts circled around the large yard, and everything felt a little hectic for a while since Juvia was such a stressful events manager, but with a little help from him, the blue-headed duo managed to fix everything completely. It was going on midnight within an hour, the grandfather clock told him so as it kept on clicking harshly with every moment he's watched and glanced at the view of everyone enjoying the sight of the garden; the food, and many scoping out and gossiping about the latest drama spreading in Magnolia.

Personally, everything here was probably something anyone would expect on a Saturday night filled with rich, bodacious and humble people in a large gathering event for charities. A donation for different variety of diseases breaking out into the world; and everyone— meaning the rich and poor, wanted to stop it.

The environment was as comfortable as a ball can get. The gray, brown stones took over the floor; bright string of lights, long golden bolts and bows were wrapped around perfectly in dozens of large chestnut trees. Jellal also helped set up the tables, which were complimented by yellow silk, cherry oak seats, glorious bright strings surrounding the whole backyard of the Manor, and of course, the garden.

The different variety of flowers displayed had brought a wonderful scent throughout the air—different flowers that Wendy, one of the youngest members of Fairy Tail collected throughout her travels. Each flower was cherished wonderfully around the places that she visited, and they were all so beautiful. That, Jellal had to admit was a wonderful idea.

The caterer continued to observe the amount of tuxedos and dresses simply flashing within the light bulbs stringing above them like small glassy angels watching over them. They were all sharing small talks with each other. The strong smell of expensive but horrible cologne emitted the air, and the snobby rich folks were pretty much an eyesore with their fur-coats, heavy make-up, and gossip about peoples reputations; they constantly spoke about the poor and how much they should be looked down upon and never spoken to as if they were from a whole different species.

In a good way, Fairy Tail was never like this, but they had come to accept the fact that if the others were willing to donate money for the cause of this, then they would gladly keep their mouths shut in order to save the world.

Jellal donated no more than eight-thousand jewels only because of the fact that he needed the rest of the money for Meredy. That, and he couldn't stop staring at this luxurious manor that tends to give him goose bumps every time he caught sight of it. But then again, the sight of mansions and large places was something not that big of a deal. Jellal was used to these kinds of things, because it was what he practically did every week or so.

After all, he is his nothing but a mere caterer.

Deep brown eyes concentrated deeply onto his little sister who looked so utterly gorgeous this wonderful night. Honestly, it was the least he can do to prevent those dark ringed eyes, fat swollen tears; puffed up cheeks and her body from aching to the point where she'd pass out from pure exhaustion. Jellal dealt with her stress plenty of times back then, and since today was her night to shine as Fairy Tail's new back-up hostess, she didn't deserve any of the stress she's done so far, so he helped out of the kindness of his heart.

Jellal already spotted Natsu Dragneel with his girlfriend who is two months pregnant, at least that's what he announced earlier in the presence of Makarov no more than three hours ago. Apparently everyone became happy for the couple; they even took pictures of the blushing blonde and hyperactive man and the paparazzi were quick to leave to probably post it all over the websites and newspapers now.

Rolling his eyes, Jellal decided to lean against an isolated brick wall of the Manor, right beside the gigantic limo of a table scattered with edible treats he and his small crew worked so hard on. The chicken—turkey, boneless ribs, and for those who were bordering on vegetarians, he made a different variety of salads, added so many seasoned veggies into platters making them look as delectable as he could….and don't get him started on the desserts since he practically hadn't had a wink of sleep last night.

Though he'd been here nearly four hours ago, he was silently entertained by the amount of guilds that accompanied the Fairy Tail manor. The different languages being heard actually intrigued him into having conversations with some females in Mermaid Heel, which was rare since their headquarters were deep into Shanghai. He also had a minor chit-chat with Blue Pegasus's Jenny and a long, but interesting discussion with Flare Corona, who nearly had Erza's physical trait on point—though she had wide eyes and shared the most petrified features he had ever seen, the hair color was almost there. Her hair was red, but not the blood-chilling red he craved to run his fingers into. Not to mention that the woman held such a strong German accent.

Afterwards, he continued to mingle and check up on Ultear and Meredy, which both of them seemed alright and were having fun drinking and meeting other guild members. And in a way he did the same. Went around, drank a little, and watched everyone come and go.

Jellal was restless, dark irises blinking numerously to keep himself up only because Ultear nagged at him, telling him to take a break which was not too long ago. Although he was the boss and owner of his own business, Ultear Milkovich was not the pushover type, and neither was Meredy. Somehow the two were like mother and daughter, pretty much reading each other's mind that always seemed to be some sort of concern about him. It was sweet, really. But he wasn't a child and he could take care of himself…only problem is…he just needed some sleep.

Big time.

Jellal pretty much regretted listening to Ultear. If anything, he just felt the need to isolate himself and just throw up whatever contents he ate earlier. He felt nausea for a little while, but it calmed down for a bit, thanks to the cigarette placed in his mouth and the thought of not having to puke in public. Last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself or be remembered as **that guy who puked at the charity event.**

He guessed the view just made everything a little dizzy for him, thanks to the large garden, an overly angelic water fountain, and the design in the backyard was just too colorful and bright that maybe he mind was spinning round and round for a moment.

The masked man observed everyone, and they seemed to handle themselves quite nicely to the point where there wasn't any drunk bashing of whatsoever. His little blunette of a sister seemed to be naturally glowing thanks to that dazzling smile placed on her lips as she waltzed with her boyfriend a few minutes ago. He felt his heart go heavy at the sight because of the fact that it was so endearing. Yes, he was too kind for his own good, but he owed Juvia so much in his life, and if this was his way of repaying his debt, so be it. As long as she was happy in the end, he was happy as well.

The people were smiling and never had Jellal felt highly useless. Though he did cook, help plan this occasion, and worked hard enough to nearly collapse tonight. He was forced to deal with the consequences of wealthy women looking at him with lust surrounding their spoiled, greedy eyes. Personally, Jellal didn't like that at all. For which he preferred a certain red-head look at him that way than many anonymous wealthy females who depended their money on everything.

The cigarette ashes burned immediately when he inhaled, letting the smoky haze of air into the darkness of the night. _Shit. I'm more tired than I thought._ Which was true, and he was in the mood to just lay on anything with a large horizontal surface and just knock out for the next couple of days. Maybe he'd even call sick the day after so he didn't have to deal with the noise of Meredy and Ultear constantly lecturing him to go to bed. But on the other hand, tricking Ultear and Meredy wasn't as easy as he thought, especially since his female employees knew everything about him like he were a repulsive, catchy song that they couldn't help but endure it.

Seeking through his golden-laced mask, his heart literally stopped beating in his chest and his brain shut down to be restarted again, but this time with a major boost enhancement.

And that's when he spotted _her. _

Jellal can tell that there was no make-up done on her heart-shaped face but the mere casualty of apple—_no_—strawberry lip gloss presented on her plush delicious lips. Her luscious red curtain of hair was wrapped up in a messy French bun, but a gorgeous, frazzled mess that only _she_ can get away with. And the long, beautiful dress was a satin, snowy white—long to the point where her bare, long legs were perfectly outlined in his eyes. However, Jellal despised the lacy designed mask displaying on that angel like face, only because her face was the key to it all.

Not that he didn't desire the round familiar curve of her rump; the sight of her heavy cleavage that almost made his body bleed with lust. Even the infinite white pearls with matching earrings and necklace made her stand out like a goddess straight from the religious books and theories he's studied about throughout the years of his life.

And that _broke _him inside.

Just what in the world was she doing?

Was she trying to find someone else to love her…? Was she trying to attract more attention although she had so many admirers who would practically kiss every step she walked in? Did she not _notice _that he only came here just for her?

Jellal became abhorred that the questions in his head had quivered into his being like the after effect of a cold bucket of water. He wanted to touch her, grab her and place her into nearest bushes and have his way with her. Even though he knew she would put up a fight, he would love it. It wouldn't be Erza if she didn't put up a fight, if she didn't say anything feisty about whatever towards anything, he wouldn't even mind the sharp nails at least scratching him like a vicious tiger successfully catching its prey. _No. _He would love it, because it just felt so…so right. So appealing_._

"My…angel," He almost said out loud when she continued walking by smoothly, the beautiful woman practically swaying across the dance floor making her way through the dozens of people who were currently looking at her as if she didn't belong in this world. Titania looked so absolutely mouthwatering that his heart practically died at the smile adorning her face when she was speaking to Hibiki.

Jellal's had practically frowned at the sight, realizing that there was no way she would ever notice him. She never did, and she never would. Erza Scarlet was too above his status for her to ever heed attention to a lone caterer.

Erza changed so much. So very much that it scared him, yet intrigued him to know more about this new Erza who seemed to take over.

Was it just the effects of youth doing this? The original changes of a woman growing up to be a strong dedicated role-model to others? Was that what Erza wanted to accomplish-or already had done?

Jellal did not like this 'change' at all. Because Jellal wasn't fond of changes. At least not dramatic differences like this.

_What happened to the little girl who always held onto me so tightly for protection?_

His eyes never left Erza's as he watched her tread carefully around the yard, and she was literally not too far from him, but what was killing him was the fact that he wasn't the only one who was watching her. She had caught the eyes of everyone, even the married men who couldn't help but taste and engorge the sight of her.

The intense jealousy began to tread carefully into his body.

Jellal then immediately felt trapped when she came upon the food table. Her brown eyes observing the large amount of food he's made with sweat and tears, though he almost died at the view of her blissful gaze when she stopped in front of the desserts. Even though he's made banana crumble, flan, crème brûlée, cherry pie and all the other good stuff… this time, however, he added her all time favorite dessert to the menu, 'Strawberry cheesecake.' A weakness of Erza's that would always gets her melting at the sight of it.

Within a blink of an eye, she took a hold of the dessert, and clasped a utensil with a skill of a person who knew how to handle their utensils throughout all their years of eating and enjoying food. With a small bite from her, he bit his bottom lip harshly to the point where blood might even spring out but he didn't care. He was nervous. So very nervous of the fact that she might be disgusted of the cake he's been preparing to perfect for as long as he can remember.

Jellal watched the look on her face, the small jolt of her cheeks framing red like her hair, and the glossy brown eyes like she was about to cry. Jellal somehow held the feeling in his mind—wanting to cry as well. He would honestly be put to shame if all his hard-work on making the perfect cake was ruined thanks to Erza. _His Erza._

"This is rather delicious." The caterer himself had practically choked on his cigar when he heard those words escape her mouth. He made the menu weeks ago, surely asking Juvia if anyone were allergic to certain foods, flavors and spices so he can design the perfect designs and lists of cooking. Allergic or not, strawberry cheesecake, of course, was her favorite delicacy in the world and he wouldn't mind putting it on the list of rations he planned so long ago.

Since then, he went to cooking school and made plenty of strawberry cheesecakes to last a lifetime until it was completely perfected. He even had to _beg _Juvia to add that to the list of desserts, even though Juvia was lactose intolerant herself, she accepted it.

Speak of the devil.

"Ah, Erza! You finally came out! Juvia was wondering what took you so long." Juvia asked with a smile plastered on her face as she pressed a hand onto the woman's shoulder.

Erza returned the smile. "I just had to speak to Master Makarov for a couple of moments before getting dressed. He's gotten a little better and wanted to have me accompany him for a bit before he went back to sleep. He apologizes for not making his present known in this event, Juvia, and we will be giving Blue Pegasus a place to sleep tonight since they traveled all the way to see us again."

His blue-headed sister blushed, a little embarrassed. "Oh, no, not at all. Juvia understands perfectly. Master does need rest after all." Erza nodded.

"Say, Juvia, do you know who made this…?" She asked, lifting the plate that oozed strawberry goodness. "I want to meet them if you don't mind. I never tasted my favorite desert like this before, and it tastes absolutely amazing."

Juvia scanned the plate in confusion before smiling brightly. "Ah!" She pounded her fist in realization. "Juvia's brother made it! Juvia's brother worked so hard for this party and Juvia owes him so much for helping out…" He can practically feel the pout leaking out on Juvia's face and he would've laughed at the cute expression if it wasn't for Erza standing there.

Jellal then watched the crimson haired woman raise a thin red eyebrow through the dark, designed mask of hers. He can tell she was completely puzzled, but as quick as the facial expression came, it disappeared. Erza then looked at Juvia as if nothing in the world could faze her, even though Jellal can easily spot that from her bodily posture that she was still delving in pure ecstasy due to the Cheesecake, this, personally made his body tingle in excitement. "…Brother?" She murmured, slightly tense. "Juvia, you never mentioned you had a brother before..."

His sister's mouth gaped open in astonishment. "Juvia has! Juvia's brother just likes to do things on his own and is very fond of privacy. He owns a catering service not too far from here."

The red-head gave Juvia a small smile, her hands tightly holding the plate. "I see…"

_Fuck._

This wasn't good for him at all.

Jellal needed to leave, immediately.

Watching her would just be enough for him. They shouldn't talk, they shouldn't meet eyes, and they shouldn't be near each other.

He didn't want to meet her.

_**Oh yes, yes you do. **_His conscience muttered deep inside his head.

The familiar pound of his head was now beginning to kill him. _No… I don't._

_**Give into your urges, Jellal. It wouldn't hurt anyone, but her.**_

_But I don't want to hurt her…I never did._

_**But you love the idea…don't you? You sick, disgusting freak. Don't lie to me; I am your counterpart after all.**_

The cold tears of sweat were beginning to shower him profusely. The echoes surrounding him seemed to mix around that he couldn't pay attention to what was what anymore.

_**You write poems about her, you take pictures, etcetera, etcetera. You're useless. Why not give into your desires for one measly night?**_

Jellal felt an abnormal pulse in his body that felt quite off. His conscience was right… and it seemed to surprise him in more ways than one. He did have a mask after all, and it wasn't like she can recognize him right away—or at all—hopefully. He can take advantage of this night just by simply talking to her, lead her into a conversation and hopefully get to understand her more than just looking at magazines, the internet, and hacking through her cell phone. Giving him her retrospection, in that intelligent little head of hers.

The caterer soon heard his little sister brag about him as if he were some type of mystical being in the world; a sacred monster of some sort, the more he couldn't help but feel the strange warmth spreading in his face when he peeked Erza nodding with a faint, comfortable smile on her face. Removing the cigarette from his mouth, he rubbed it against the Manor's stone walls and stepped on it, instantly blowing away the dreaded smell. Smoking was a highly unattractive trait, and he already knew Erza wasn't fond of smoke or alcohol, but he only smoked because _she_ was the cause of his stress.

"I...don't know if I want to meet him just yet, I mean...I don't want to interrupt anything." He heard her say, and then she began to murmur softly that he couldn't recognize the symbol of lip reading afterwards, this had him cursing mentally.

It was obvious his Scarlet didn't want to meet him. It was all in her gaze, and if it wasn't that, then her wonderful posture gave it out. She was incredibly nervous and he can see it leaking out like a cracked dam. She was trembling but only for a little. But no, she was acting strong and everyone was too stupid to even notice that.

"Please, don't worry at all. He's a great person!"

Shaking his head in order to get rid of the misconception that happened earlier, Jellal began swallowing the remaining saliva that began to automatically clog up his throat. Only because he found her beautiful being straying a mere two feet away from him. Though, Juvia decided to stay behind to give them some privacy, Jellal noticed that his sister was secretly smiling at them, making him heat up even more.

Great. Juvia was aware of his crush on her.

His strong, chocolate round-eyed beauty that he's been dying to speak to was in front of him, looking with a little uncertainty in her eyes and the small shiver of her fingers as she held onto the plate—anxious. Nervous or not, he felt beyond thrilled. What he loved most about his Titania was that she inherited _natural _beauty from the heavens itself. Something so surreal that he can feel everything reignite with one look at her, and the best thing of all, was that she hadn't changed.

Hopefully.

"…Hello, Juvia's brother. My apologies in not getting to know your name." She said with interest, and Jellal did his best not to gape at her as if she were a lamb begging to get eaten by a big bad wolf like him. The dirty tainted evilness inside of him was just dying to lick her lips and tease her so, the strong urge of nibbling her earlobes and biting her neck, and to touch and caress her bold, soft shoulders and knees. He wanted to see her arch her back in ecstasy— in pain, and her small toes point at him seductively like a wanton virgin wanting to be taken for the hell of it.

_**Give into your desires, Jellal. Do it.**_

Jellal can only swallow a lump of anxiety so he can avoid talking to himself in public. He simply nodded before looking directly at Juvia who was smiling brightly at him that he was finally talking to the girl of his dreams. With a small smile, he gave Juvia; he did the same to his Scarlet, hoping not too frighten her at all.

"Please, call me Siegrain." He said quietly, "It's finally great to meet you."

She looked up at him, longingly, as if finally noticing him for the first time. Those rich soiled eyes drilling a hole into his head and his mouth curved slightly while his heartbeat pumped all the more dangerous. Just the thought of her simply complimenting him of his cooking and his aid of dealing with these kinds of people just for the gist of it made his blood churn like butter.

But he didn't do this for them…he did this for her. From the very beginning, it was all for her.

Her eyes widened quickly to have them close shut within seconds. The woman nodded shortly after that. He can easily tell she was highly uncomfortable, but of course she would ignore it. Jellal knew her long enough that she would just accept the fact that they've finally spoken after all this time, and she would let this slide thanks to the fact that they just met again. If he was her best friend or good friend, it would've been different, but he felt excited that he can finally take advantage of her facial expressions. The control, the urge to see her look slightly dazed and confused, and the glossy pink lips simply frowning a little.

He's never been so grateful until this day.

"Siegrain…have…have I met you somewhere before?" She asked her, mouth firm with a saddening frown.

He smiled before molding his brown, heated gaze onto hers. "Not that I remember, if I have… I would've never forgotten."

Her mouth parted in confusion, and Jellal's tongue peeked out of its cavern to tame the horrid cravings of simply crashing his lips onto hers. Her eyes narrowed in little disappointment, and he was thankful that he took a picture of that expression in his mind. "Exactly what do you mean by that?" Although her face was filled with displeasure, he saw the frivolous little goose bumps that rose on her arms.

Why was she so nervous?—The thought of that happening was fairly impossible. His red-haired angel wasn't supposed to be this scared or anxious about anything. Erza, the majestic Titania—his Erza, his Scarlet, his _velvet_. She was the strongest woman in Fairy Tail after all—displaying leadership, status, and bravery no matter what the cost. There was no doubt the woman would even go far enough to die inside this Manor without giving up. Scarlet was such a hard worker, Jellal was a little surprised that she hadn't decide to do her daily spa treatments whenever she became stressed, or drank any lemon tea to reduce the upcoming pressure of work a guild elite should do.

_She must've felt daring today. _Jellal thought before answering. "The wonderful Titania, the S-class elite, and the most gorgeous woman in Fairy Tail. Whoever were to forget your beauty and title is bound to be a fool." The caterer continued to grin, "You hold an influential prestige. Let no one hold that against you."

Beautiful coffee orbs narrowed at him in confusion.

Dark coffee orbs quickly scanning the dancing crowd to see if anyone was paying attention to their conversation, Jellal was relieved to hear that everyone was minding their own business. His fingers skimmed through his own dark blue locks before gazing back at her.

"Are you uncomfortable with me, Scarlet?"

Ah, he let the mistake slip out. He'd forgotten that no one outside of Fairy Tail knew her last name.

As if on cue, her eyes widened in recognition, something Jellal hadn't seen in so very long, "…How do you know my last name?—"

The caterer felt a his lips rotate into a nervous smile, and something in his gut told him that he was scaring her little by little from the look on her face, and the frantic beat of his heart was literally calling out for her. "It was an old rumor, my mistake. Let's just forget about that little error and focus on us, now."

Jellal watched her lips go into a grim line and those eyes he's come to love so much flared up angrily. "_Tell me_, Siegrain. How do you know my last name? Who told you?"

The masked man simply wanted to take a step back but only ended up doing the complete opposite. Moving forward, he watched her freeze up completely; his body leaning into hers while he purposely nuzzled into the curve of her smooth neck to whisper into the small, pearly earring accompanying her lobe. Something he can see himself doing by whispering sweet, delicious nothings into her ear as he pounded mercilessly into her. Jellal suppressed his cravings into letting that happen and felt her shiver against him. Jellal also felt the heat of her body impaled deeply into him, and when he felt her small breath hitch in fear…

He felt…completely helpless.

"I just, happen to know.._._"

He nearly whispered before slipping in between the soft, small hand, heavily caressing it when he found her fingertips trembling in response. Bringing her pale fingers onto his lips, he kissed each finger deeply in affection and he can feel the familiar electricity burn within the air. The same muggy tension that surrounded them back in the Tower of Heaven, reality getting the best of them at such a young age…oh how he felt himself shimmer with what seemed like excitement.

"It was nice to meet you Erza." _My love…my sweet, my Titania._ "It was great talking to you. But I must take my leave." He bowed slightly before stepping away from her; trying his best not to look upset at the obvious frown spoiling her face.

However, as quickly as he bid his farewell—she grabbed his wrist, tightly to the point where he can feel the bombarding strength of her body strangle the life out of his forearm, but the pain didn't faze him at all. _So you've gotten stronger…_He said mentally, remembering the articles of Erza training hard to fight in a fighting competition. He just knew the woman was constantly placing herself as _weak,_ thus she took and mastered large amount of fighting styles. Karate, Tai-kwon-do, Kung Fu and even took Kendo in her all girls High school. The woman was courageous, beautiful, and at times stubborn to the point of no return, but he loved her for that.

Brown button eyes looked dangerous and her face was slowly going red—the same expression he pictured continuously in his fantasies that had him drooling in demise. With a glance, anyone can tell she was obviously angry; and within a matter of seconds of silence with eyes peering onto his, Jellal was pretty much wondering what was going on through that lovely little head of hers. "You're lying to me. And you will tell me who you are." The way her voice became stern made his lips twitch in anticipation. He can tell she was practically commanding him with that fierce look in her eyes, and from the seconds that continued to pass within them, Erza wanted him to answer. Now_._

Jellal's tongue flew out his mouth and began licking his lips again, drinking the heavy upsetting look of hers. "I wouldn't dare lie to you," He said quietly, brown eyes swirling with sincerity. "Not once_… _not _ever._" Avoiding her earlier questions he made another move to leave, but she had easily gotten him cornered. Jellal had seen the aghast look on her face for a second before placing that useless disguise of seriousness.

If only someone told her she looked so much better smiling.

"Tell me…who are you?" She said, slightly bewildered. "And why do you know my last name, Siegrain? That is confidential information that should _never _be leaked out. Are you from a secret organization? What do you want with Fairy Tail, and what are you planning?"

He moved closer than before, "Does your last name really bother you that much for you to accuse me of being in some deadly group?"Jellal was beginning to get impatient. "No, I'm not, Erza. But…I have a question to ask of you." He slowly then curled a lock of her red hair within his index finger and thumb, loving the soft texture of it.

"Why don't you show anyone your true self?"

_Why have you changed so much?_

_What made you become like this?_

Her eyes widened into the size of cherry pies, and when he heard her gasp—a yell nearly erupting her throat, he began to curse his luck when some heads where beginning to whip to their direction. "You don't know _anything _about me."

The small chivalrous gesture inside of him told him that he should just ignore it and go back to doing his work, to pretend nothing happened and hopefully have another night of trying to sleep. But he couldn't, the screaming words of saying _I do know you _was lifting at the tip of his tongue like a deadly cliff.

Jellal quickly held her waist, pulling her towards the small dance floor that had nearly everyone in it; he gave her a small reassuring smile when he found her bemused, state. But then again, her bright brown eyes were still livid, physically letting him know that she was still upset. Jellal soon clasped her small hand tightly as the others looked at them, a golden vest wearing caterer simply dancing with the S-class queen of Fairy Tail, he can see many reasons why everyone was looking at them. He was possibly sticking out like a sore thumb, and that was degrading in the eyes of the wealthy, or his sweet angel was just too beautiful to be looked down upon by such a strange man.

It took him awhile to find his lead on her as the strong but tempting sound of the classical violin went on and on to the point where he found his rhythm, the familiar rhythm that he's come to love so much.

Jellal bit his lip when he pulled her closer— the sweet, delicious scent of her body calling for him to just eat her alive. The silence of them dancing had others going back to what they were doing. He heard certain amount of whispers, but Jellal didn't care, he was dancing with his Scarlet—touching her, breathing her, and dissecting her with every bold look she's given to him since the moment they started speaking. The goose bumps were still clear on her skin, and the shakiness of her movements…it was obvious she was anxious.

No wait. Matter of fact, she was _petrified._

"A-Answer me." She stammered with a tone that sounded so very familiar that it had him chuckling lightly in response. The erupted laughter must've infuriated her off even more because she squeezed his shoulder and he was grinning though he felt little pain.

Jellal smiled a little, "Can't we just dance…?"

She ignored his current statement, "Tell me, Siegrain._"_

"I…I can't tell you. I really don't want to ruin this night." His fingers constricted tightly around her waist, "I don't want to be away from you again, Scarlet. But then again that won't change; I still love you after all this time."

"I don't _need _your love. I never did, now tell me who you are." The woman nearly yelled at this point.

Jellal held the urge to sigh, "Bringing that up again…"

"How dare you—" Her lips parted as they're eyes met once more and she wasn't completely surprised that he was amused. There was shock evident on her face as he rubbed her waist in a circular motion using his thumb, simply grabbing onto her, his lips brushing against her cheek and Jellal felt her back arch, her large, soft mounds of her breasts arresting the buttons of his golden vest.

Jellal smiled as he clutched her tightly, spinning her around with a small whirl before bringing her back to him. "I don't want to, I feel like I'll never be able to do this again. To dance with you like this." He found her eyes shoot open, a stunned expression already formed on her face.

"Speak now, you find my patience amusing Siegrain, and I am not afraid to hurt you right here right now."

The caterer smiled naturally, she was so strong-willed like always. "I…"

Jellal took a deep breath. "Throughout the years of living here in Magnolia. I've seen what you accomplished, what you do and how you moved from little innocent Erza, into the goddess of Fairy Tail." He was a little surprised his voice didn't falter, his fingers slowly tracing her jaw, "I do know many things about you, Scarlet. Like you're a blood type A. I know you're twenty-six years old, I know that you were orphaned; and I know you had an eye injury right before getting here. Though, how you got it… is still a mystery to me."

When he heard her say nothing but give him a stunned expression in return, he took it as a signal to continue. "I know that you have so much pressure weighing on that body of yours that you break down nearly every night—crying and pleading. I know that you drink lemon tea whenever you feel depressed, a habit you had whenever you're in confrontation with bad news. I know that you act so tough so men won't take advantage of you or girls everywhere because they look up to you like some sort of role model. I know your other boyfriend's constantly used you for money, fame and possibly for sexual activities; though I hope not, due to the fact that all this information seemed to be on the tabloids, _Scarlet_." Jellal felt her shiver horrendously and he rubbed the pale curve of her back soothingly, a little surprised at the fact that no one in the dance floor didn't witness any of this.

"I know that you love the scent of angel-cake candles after a long day at the guild, and that you prefer to take baths instead of showers. I know you don't celebrate your birthday because you despise the memory of not having a _real_ family to celebrate it with." He paused, unsure if she was still listening, but either way she made no move…only because she was completely frozen in her spot.

"Also, Erza…who is this… therapist of yours?"

Jellal never got his confirmation, due to the loud unexpected smack resounding on his cheek.

Jellal almost laughed at the sting wrapping around his cheek, he can tell that everyone's eyes was on them and the harsh, murderous glare of Erza.

"_Don't _even think about finishing that sentence, or I will _kill you!_"

And it wasn't like he could even bother muttering a word afterwards, because she smacked him again. This time, on the other cheek, and dear Mavis, it _burned _like the heat of his love for her.

Unfortunately for Jellal, that's when the lovely keys of the piano stopped abruptly. Many eyes were locked onto the duo in the middle of the elegant backyard, and Jellal smiled; he felt heavy-hearted with anticipation, thrill, and his interest in this 'new' Erza sky-rocketed beyond the charts.

Jellal had to admit he was a little stunned that his blood cells haven't burst from all the stimulation running through him at that very moment. She was just so _entrancing _when angry, so utterly gorgeous that he can feel the beat of his chest thumping viciously at his other organs as he kept those eyes locked onto him.

Though it took Jellal a mere few seconds to finally realize that his mask had already landed on the floor.

No one had seen the hurt expression splitting across his face but his lovely Erza, and she looked at him with familiar, wide, angry—and scared, _oh so _scared, brown delectable eyes.

"J-Jellal…is…is that you?"

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(A/N): Ugh. The things I do for love. This chapter killed me many times cause' I was so busy with school and dance class that I had changed up a whole bunch of things just to make it interesting. (Fun Fact: Did you know that this chapter was naturally supposed to be the first chapter?) Well, you do now. When I had this story drafted up and ready to post, I went to a trolling idiot for advice on the story since he's a fan of Fairy Tail and I was kind of desperate for someones point of view at the time. (Because it's hard to find anime freaks in my school) and I asked for his opinion since he's such a critique when it comes to anime. "Its good, I mean, it's like. Really good." He said. Picking dirt under his nails, then looking at me with little satisfaction. "But I think you should write it **all over again**."

Oh I was really...really pissed when he said that, but I heed to his advice. And believe it or not, the story came out way more better. I had more time to think about the plot, add more ideas to the story, and of course had much inspiration thanks to the music and the books that helped bring this all together, I'm actually very thankful to him. Although, he's an annoying trolling bastard, but still a cool friend of mine.

This chapter is named after Lana Del Rey's 'Gods and Monsters' it's very melancholic, but addicting and sexual. Pretty much goes with the flow in my opinion. Also, I hadn't meant to put a cliffhanger. But I had no choice, only because I had SO MUCH detail to add in this chapter, but decided to save it for the next one coming up.

Any grammar and spelling mistakes will be fixed later on; but do point out just in case I overlook them. Please, and thank you.

To my reviewers: THANK YOU SO MUCH! But let me put it separately so it can be more individualized.

**Darkside Wolf: **You know, in a way I've always believed Jellal was a psycho (Cause' he was all evil and creepy when Hiro Mashima introduced him in the manga) But I like the fact that it really wasn't the 'real' him. It makes things so much more practical and interesting for future fics to use him as a psycho or a cold-hearted sadistic man, or just the original sweet, emotional Jellal we all know and love. Hopefully my cliffhanger didn't keep you from losing the story's 'awesomeness'. I'm trying my hardest to impress you my dear, and I do hope to hear more from you! :3

**BlackCatNeko999: **I'm happy you didn't find the chapter boring, I mostly have mixed feelings from how I feel with the story than how others experience it. I go a little haywire sometimes, but I guess that's just me being crazy. I felt a little bad working on this chapter because I didn't have enough room for Meredy and Ultear's perspective like you suggested, but trust me, it will be revealed on what's going on so far. The Therapist honestly wasn't going to be anyone important, it was just supposed to be...well, just... someone. But your review made me think and think, and so far I chose my perfect candidate, which will later be introduced in the story. Jellal looking at Hibiki was actually supposed to brighten up the mood a bit from having that chapter all dark and creepy, and I'm glad it worked on you. I do appreciate your reviews, they help me out more than anything, and I do hope you keep on reading until the very end. So thank you so much for the support! ^_^

**Fan: **Ah! Thanks so much for the review anon! Dark, and twisted stories is usually my least favorite, but I worked around it and had come to love it even more. My writing isn't all that neat, if anything, it gets repetitive sometimes. Though I'm really glad you like it. (Ps: We all fear for someones life at one point, and I'm glad you chose Ultear to be worried about. She's awesome. But that's all I should say for now cause I don't want to spoil anything.) And again, thanks for the review! :)

**AliceStoneheart: **Thoughts are the key to everything. I can't stand the way I write dialogue because it get's so frustrating...But I love the fact that my conversations and thinking had you interested to the point where you just had to review. I doubt this would be one of the 'best' Jerza fics out there, because I really read some great ones thats just so sweet and fluffy, but the comment of you writing that...it made my heart soar. Thank you so much, and I hope you continue reading this story until I reach the end. Thanks again! :D

**xxxMissAlicexxx: **Writing dark and angsty stories does take a lot of time (Well, for me.) But if you put your heart into something you love (Shipping Jerza for example) You feel like you can do just about everything. Just put a lot of emotion and show as if you've been in a situation like this before. Or just think, "What would I do if I was Erza or Jellal?" And you can let everything flow from there no matter how crazy it sounds. My tip of advice if you want to do dark stories one day. Yeah, Ultear having a thing for Jellal is one of the main reasons that I just HAD to post this story. My weaknesses and strengths are love triangles. I get crazy with them, but not entirely cause they get me depressed sometimes. We all don't want that one person who's involved in a love triangle to get heartbroken. I hate it, some love it, but lets just see how everything goes for the meantime. Also, you have great instinct in guessing names and who the 'T' person is, but just to break it down the person was not in this chapter. (My bad!) -Bows down and runs away- However, thanks for the review! I also can't wait to hear more from you in the future. :)

**Penguin trainer: **Lol, the fact that Jellal is always pushing Erza away kills me! We need more Jerza and I hope they officially become canon or give us a peek of a real kiss in the later chapters. I always wondered why obsessed characters seem to make me crazy and in love with them; personally I found that Jellal can play that character so well. In all honesty, he was supposed to evil (when the story was in the works) but I changed my mind since I pretty much went through that Jellal anyway (My first Jerza story: Of Bittersweet Treasures) And I didn't want to repeat the same Jellal because it gets annoying. And of course I wanted to go through a different one. A sweet, sometimes sarcastic and dense, but possessive man who would go through hell and back for the one he loves. (Its hard to find people like that nowadays...) Jellal's paranoia and thoughts is practically everything to me, and I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the review! :P

Until next time everyone!


	4. Broken Crown

_**Warnings: Non-con, Dark, Death, Violence, Obsession, OOC-ness, AU, Suspense, Bad language, abuse, cameos, and many graphical scenes.**_

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_**Broken Crown**_

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If it weren't the sound of soft cries being muffled, than it was definitely the sound of Meredy's heart breaking as well. The pinkette had literally locked the private female's bathroom just to occupy her time with the older woman who was no doubt in tears, and didn't want to admit it. Ultear _is_ stubborn. Ultear _is _strong. And Ultear is… the most intelligent, emotional woman who would no doubt be able to melt anyone's heart with those dark forbidden eyes. Meredy felt her heart thump oddly, and it must have been that she felt half-heartedly broken as well.

Throughout her life of work, friends, and school, never had Meredy been heartbroken before. Her family was well lived, she never had a father or a mother to begin with; but she never complained about it. It was what she supposed life was all about, 'moving on' was a saying that she was very good at doing, but unfortunately, Meredy just couldn't. Not at this moment, especially when she can feel the waves of hurt radiating from the other side of the door.

"Ultear…please, speak to me." She said softly, pleading and helplessness was obviously noted within her tone; only because it was unbearable to hear her best friend to cry like this. Everything had seemed fine for such an eventful night; but of course, something just had to go in the opposite direction. It was supposed to be Ultear to catch Jellal's attention from the very start, not the famous red-head whose beauty stood out more than the others. Erza was her first name; though the last name…Meredy was sure the woman did not hold any family name. Not that Meredy could really blame Jellal for flirting suggestively at the woman! Though it may not look like it from a distance, it was obvious from the body language within the two that something was up. Meredy had not once seen Jellal so very interested in someone before, let alone a human being at that.

She somewhat understood Jellal's perspective…the bloody-haired woman was very beautiful. But even though, Jellal had to be extremely dense to not notice that his co-worker harbored feelings for him since the moment they met back in college, and it was quite sad to even witness that this whole matchmaking thing wasn't going to work out. Predominantly if it took only one night to realize this.

The door knocked lightly against the metal stall. Meredy biting her bottom lip in anguish as she heard another small cry from the other side of the door. "Ultear…." The pinkette said quietly as she continued to tap lightly on the heavy door. "Listen…I—I'm _so_ sorry. I had no idea things would turn out like this." The young female sulked and placed her head onto it as if hoping the wall was Ultear's soft shoulders. "I'm such a fool, and it's my fault to blame. Ultear, I really am sorry about all of this…It was my idea after all and I shouldn't have brought your hopes up, it was wrong of me to do that to you."

Meredy heard the door clink open, the metallic sounds of Ultear's doing. As the door opened wide enough, Meredy was quick enough to throw her arms around the older woman whose beautiful black eyes were glassy and strained pink due to tears.

The silence was a little unbearable to deal with, but Meredy knew better. Ultear wasn't fond of talking at the moment, and as her best friend, she would respect her decision either way. Ultear's hands tightened around the woman's shoulders as her head rested on the curve of her neck. The pink-haired female can feel the wetness landing onto her half-nude shoulder and began caressing the silk tresses of dark hair dancing within her pale fingers. _So soft, _she nearly said out loud as Ultear took a deep shuddering sigh; which seems to be a sign that she was feeling a little better than before.

The pinkette heard a small whisper from the others lips, though Meredy couldn't comprehend what the other said only because the sound was muffled by her shoulder. "I know this is an emotional moment right now..." Meredy blushed in complete shame and guilt; feeling like the worst best friend in the world. "But can you repeat that for me…Ultear?"

Her co-worker simply lifted her head; dark, beaded eyes had begun to loiter around longer than they were supposed to. It became Meredy's secret goal to get rid of these tears as soon as possible.

"I'm not giving up."

The young co-worker nearly raised her eyebrow in puzzlement until the other spoke once more, clearer, and spoken more without its current scratchiness.

"I…I'm not giving up on...Jellal."

To Ultear's mental state of surprise, Meredy had then smiled brightly at her, quickly placing her small hands on the pale shoulders of the mature woman.

"Now that's the Ultear I know."

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Jellal had only remembered specific things that can only alter his lost memory for only a second. He had no remembrance of his childhood, but he did figure out that the Tower of Heaven—a place that was mostly involved with his dreams—had become a distinct memory that he can never fully memorize unless such things had triggered them. His latest panic attack somewhat clued him before, and the sweet picture of Erza had given him an idea of what he must've been like as a little boy. But other than that…the regions inside his empty dark mind was as useless as a man being sent to war with no experience whatsoever.

Some memories weren't really anything but dramatic impulses that he went through when he was a child. Like how his dog had mysteriously died, or whenever his mother would somewhat pat his hair instead of giving him a kiss goodnight, even when his father would continuously check his time whenever they spent time together.

Though most of these gestures from his parents were cold, he had never paid attention to them because it had never mattered. None of them mattered anymore because they were old—distinguished memories that barely had anything to do with unexplainable dreams he's been dealing with for most of his life.

When Jellal was little, the one thing he had always despised was the large clock that kept on ticking with every chance it got. Words could not explain why he had such hatred towards the harmless inanimate object. He was just…never interested in telling time, nor appreciating its subsistence. Jellal was never into telling time or wanting anything to do with it. But what was a remarkable fact was that at a young age, time was always considered an important thing; at least that's what his parents would tell him whenever he whined about going to school.

Just like how his father would tell him to never be late for his tutoring sessions, or when his mother would wake up extremely early to join the other staff members in the house and appreciate their service by making them coffee. And he could never be late when Juvia was incredibly fond—and still is— fond of her older brother, she would have nearly killed him whenever she set up her tea parties if he wasn't present.

However, one cold rainy day, ten-year old Jellal then had his first experience with the distant dream; this was prior and different to the ones he's been getting recently. Of course, blood was always seeping into the foggy entrance of waves and sand, with a random pair of lips screaming of pure desperation, and possibly even more blood, but instead of one body, their were so much people…that seemed like shadows because none of their faces were identified, but it was hard to see through all the darkness in the Tower of Heaven, that strange night had became a complete mystery.

This was Jellal's first experience to the weird nightmare. That day, it was the first time his mouth opened in an outward scream in a room full of darkness, his small body lightly kissed with a sheen of sweat, tanned hands tightly holding onto his pale sheets—almost bloodied finger tips carving his own palms out of pure misery and straight fear. It was until moments after that Jellal had found himself looking at the small, old fashioned clock that lead right on top of one of the isolated walls in the front of his room.

_12:34 Pm._ Was read in the reflection of his large mirror.

It was the day his parents were supposed to come back home from their business meeting in Spain. That very morning he and Juvia were expecting them in their room to surprise them with cards and drawings that they had planned since the two weeks they left.

Unexpectedly…they hadn't. An empty; chilling room was displayed in front of their eyes.

What they had received in the end were dead parents who never came home or saw the enchanting light of their children's eyes again. Turns out the private plane dissolved into the air that held nothing but fire, ashes, and metallic particles of transportation aftermath, and surprisingly, the plane had exploded at the very same time Jellal had woken up from his nightmare. At least that was what the news of worldwide affairs had explained when both Prime minister of the Council and his wife had died quite dramatically, leaving two of their children into the hands of their staff members and butlers.

It had taken nearly five years for Jellal to finally realize what time was or what a clock represented. Instead of seeing it as arriving late or waking early, it was beyond that statement. Time was when fate wanted to treat you to either another day, a series of mixed emotions and dramatic days, or just...death to yourself or to a loved one. Time was never considered a good thing, nor bad. But it was just the very anxious moment of awaiting everything that was going to happen to _you, _or to someone that you dearly cared for.

The Jellal today has always cherished time, for which it was a thrilling situation to deal with constantly. Nonetheless, never had he felt like he was dealing with many horrid emotions, death, and another…simple day—at least not all at once. Everything felt like it was crashing down towards him, and there was nothing to do but to let it happen.

_Slowly._

And never had time never felt so extremely vile…harmful, and _slow_.

So very, very…slow, to the point where he wanted things to fast forward and pretend any of them would not repeat themselves again, to quickly get rid of the pain that was developing in his body and have the night disperse into the air and to remain forgotten. _Anything_; at least trying to erase Erza's haunting expression of terror and flashing water in those eyes. His velvet was at the brink of tears, controlling them with all her might in order for them not to plaster onto her beautiful face. The intense anxiety of her arms clutching each other as if she had just touched something so revolting like she had no further choice but to touch him.

And because of this…Jellal wished he could make time vanish with the flicker of his fingers, possibly even make himself turn into ashes just to give some type of hope that Erza wasn't…_afraid_ of him.

Time introduced itself again when Jellal had taken another step closer to her, like a child attracted to the sweetest, brightest candy in the shop—and therefore, in his eyes, she will always be the his most cherished person, because he yearned to touch her, to taste her, and dance with her again. Hopefully without having her look at the man as if he were the worst existence to ever live on Earth, like he was a humanized form of Zeref himself. It was like the more he leaned forward, the more she stepped back—distractingly—nearly tripping onto her own feet and bumping into anyone without breaking eye contact, something he could tell she wanted to do so horrendously. Like it was her purpose to run away as quickly as she can away from him. Jellal had never seen Erza so terrified before, though she had a mask on, he can clearly envision the obvious meltdown she was trying so hard to control in order not to embarrass herself within a crowd full of hundreds of people.

Then she had gotten a hold of Natsu with desperate, quivering hands, clutching the man's arm tightly as if he were her the only thing that can save her…from him.

The sight had merely broken more than his heart.

Most guests were distracted, dancing, eating, and mingling away like they were supposed to, because of course, the night was still young. But a generous sum of people were confused when the music had stopped like a criminal had just suddenly sliced the air with the sound of a bullet. Gray, Juvia, and Natsu especially. The three had only been dancing and chatting until the commotion was heard throughout the dance floor like a murderous scream of the night.

Two pairs of maple brown eyes had kept the feared glaze onto him; the broken—mortified sensation easily pouring into the darkest, most pounding piece of tension Jellal had ever felt in his life, and he was sure everyone can feel it too. Although his heart pumped again and again, his organ hitting harder and harder once he finally witnessed twin tears escape those chocolaty orbs. Jellal had not smiled; neither did he manage to frown. His face had merely gone to a look of a psychopath; his hand unconsciously reaching out to hold her, to calm her down, to explain his actions and to somewhat question her on why she was so scared, but she quickly smacked his hand away like a bothersome mosquito longing for her blood.

"Please…d-don't…!" Her voice was trembling, like an abused child terrified of the word 'punishment.'

Erza had averted her eyes away from him. He wasn't exactly sure but he felt that she had suddenly whispered a mantra of promises held towards herself, "_he won't hurt you, he won't hurt you," _Was all he can muster from her silent lip talk, but the sentence had been enough when his hand had felt as if it twisted itself into submission to just leave her alone. Things was becoming strangely painful for him; this being one of the top five painful experiences he'd ever dealt with—not even his parents deaths had affected him with such vigor.

He watched his red-haired beauty quickly tread away. Half of the other guest's eyes in the dance floor molding towards her pale, most of them staring back at him as if he had just been exposed in front of a high school society. Jellal continued to watch the smooth pale back of hers as she headed back inside the Manor with such dynamic force pressed onto the wooden doors.

It had felt like an infinite amount of time when he watched her leave him like that. His mouth slightly opened in astonishment and hurt.

What Jellal couldn't figure out was the hazy emotion trying to interrupt him at the moment.

His body felt extremely numb, and he was happy to see the love of his life make contact with him, the first time in ages. Even if it were for a moment that spoke of nothing but harsh truths and gentle swaying under the night sky; even when she had smacked him silly and looked terrified to see her childhood friend again...

This gave Jellal the strange urge to laugh. To laugh everything all off until his lungs gave out, even if it seemed entirely cruel to a group of humble and rich, haughty people who didn't care about Fiore. Half of the women were dressed as sluts hunting for rich and famous men who at least made a sight in the magazines and newspapers. Most men were power and money hungry and delivered nothing but change and corruption to the world, bribing those who were innocent of their duty and easily blinding the council and themselves.

The night couldn't have gotten any worse than it already has now.

A cool, innocent touch to his cheeks had almost jolted him from his mental expedition of a greedy society. "Jellal…what happened?" He heard his sister ask him when she landed right in front of his faint sight; distracting him from the door his love had just gone through. With all the psychological might he can muster from his brain, Jellal had finally removed his observation from the door and went on to raising his eyebrows—quickly changing his expression before throwing a faint smile at his adorable little sister.

"Don't worry about me, Juvia. Erza just took offense about something sexist I said, I will be alright," He lied easily, reassuring her with a soft pat on her head. "I deserved every bit of it."

His sister looked unsure. "But Jellal…? Juvia has never seen her react this way, not ever!"

Jellal's face went embarrassed before scratching the back of his neck, a little nervous. "I said something sexist and she took offense. I forgot how she's a superhero to others, and if anything, I understand if she hates me… really, I do." He gave Juvia a comforting smile that easily had her into a state of asking more questions, but he interrupted her open mouth just from that, "I have to leave now since I caused a commotion and don't want anyone to feel discomforted. Let Ultear and Meredy know I left early alright..? And if Meredy asks for me, tell her I'll write her paycheck first thing in the morning."

As if alarms went off, Juvia panicked right away. "No, Jellal, don't leave! Juvia owes you a lot after helping—"

"_Juvia."_ He stopped her babbling worries once he said her name with a lingering smile of apology. "I did this all for you, and I'm happy you're enjoying your time, but I'm even a little distressed that I ruined it as well, my apologies my dear, beautiful little sister." He pulled her in and kissed her soundly on her forehead, "I will see you as soon as I can. Call me if anything, and tell Erza I apologize. Though, I doubt she would accept it, she's a very…interesting woman." He smiled again before rubbing his cheek. It hurt, a lot.

He met other dark blue eyes instantly, a small apologetic smile before shaking the other man's hand. Jellal had almost forgotten that Gray was standing right next to her. "Oh, and Gray, I am sorry as well. Please take care of my sister during my time of absence." As the dark-headed man nodded with uncertain features, Jellal shortly turned to the other way and facing the back door of the Manor. Simply ignoring the glares and voices of wondering what the racket was about, he headed out towards the other side of the Manor, simply walking pass through the people and nearing into the main entrance, though was stopped when a familiar shade of pink spikes stood in front of him with confused, but a similar, angered look in his eyes.

"Yo," The immature man said with irritated eyes and Jellal could not figure why Natsu even bothered to speak with him now since he ignored him the entire night. "Who are you and why was Erza acting like that…?" He asked, a bewildered, frustrated tone taking over his original light-hearted personality.

Jellal avoided the talkative member as he only went around him like an easy obstacle and continued to head through the main entrance, though he knew Natsu would follow him shortly afterwards. He heard the rough and heavy steps peer behind him and with a small tug of his arm. This began to piss him off because something in his mind told him that Natsu wasn't going to simply let this go like any other human being would. But then again, this was Natsu. _The __Natsu Dragneel. _This man was anything _but _normal.

Brown, darkening irises was met with furious gasoline green orbs, "I'll ask again, what have you done to Erza?"

Jellal, however, gave a blank, lifeless, and incredibly iron-hard glare that can probably stop the Earth from moving. The blue-haired man didn't see any point in explaining his business to Natsu. Jellal despised the man to the point where he wanted him dead plenty of times, only because the man gets to spend so much time with his lovely Scarlet and it urged him to do the unspeakable. Although he felt incredibly jealous of Natsu and their closeness, he averted it, because getting rid of a Fairy Tail member was like kidnapping the most loveable child in the neighborhood. It was too troublesome and every person in Fiore will go through hell and back to find that child.

Unfortunately, that was Fairy Tail for you.

"Nothing happened. Now let me pass."

Natsu's eyes widened, either stunned at the obvious lie or shocked that the man spoke back to him just as harshly like he did, Jellal didn't want to know nor did he care. "Well..." The other one paused for a couple of seconds, looking for words to say. "It…It can't be nothing if she smacked you twice! I've never seen her so pissed off before and you danced with her and all that! Just tell me what happened?" Natsu's abrasive behavior was starting to get on Jellal's last nerve, but he didn't blame Natsu for reacting this way. He was just worried about his friend who turned outraged and it was his entire fault, let it be him in Natsu's situation and the person would've already been a bloody pulp of bodily porridge.

Jellal turned to face Natsu, his lips grim and dark eyes malicious to the point where Natsu had almost found it hard to stare back. "Nothing happened. If you're so worried, why don't you tend to her needs instead of mine? She looks like she needs _your_ company anyway." Jellal said, dangerously calm yet both knew there was tension of oil and water clashing against each other like a waging war.

Jealousy was an emotion Jellal had always found it hard to control. But his emotions completely slipped when the recorded look of despair on her face as she held Natsu's arm.

_**Everything hurts you, doesn't it? Your head hurts, your bitch just dumped you in front of everyone, and you have no one to turn to but you're sad, weeping little book and pictures. Just when have you become so sensitive?**_

Jellal shivered when the dark entity of his mind spoke up; his head pounding.

_No…stop, I had enough of your interference for one night._

'_**No, stop' Oh wow, by the gods you sound just like that wench. It sickens me. Enlighten me, freak. Why do you think she's scared of you? It can't be because of your handsome features because she looked at you like you murdered her pet animal.**_

_She's not scared of me! …_Is she? He thought sadly. His cobalt bangs covering the wandering emotion in his eyes. _Erza wasn't scared…no, she just couldn't be._

_**Think, Jellal...think. You're me, I'm you. Think. Really, use that brain of yours and stop thinking you're all innocent and stop basing your love with her like everything's a fairy tale. You're nothing but a bystander to your thoughts, have control for once and think.**_

_Think? There's nothing to think about! _Jellal was at the verge of ripping his scalp in anger, confusion, and in all honesty, find out what the night terrors truly meant and what had really happened throughout his childhood memories.

In many ways, Jellal felt like a mere duck that caught onto the piles of small edible bread that was placed in Erza's pale smooth hands. Or worse, a king who had no idea how traitorous everyone around you were; he was a king with a broken throne, a broken kingdom, and a broken crown. Poisoned—killed, assassinated, and betrayed by the one he truly loves. What made it even greater was that there was nothing he can do about it—nor prevent the future from happening.

This was fated since the very beginning.

There would be no 'love' involved in that world of hers. Erza was Erza, and she had the looks of a pure goddess but the insides of a venomous, overprotective mountain lion that would protect her Fairy Tail cubs from harm. She will not expose her weakness to a man who simply wanted to love her like no other, and to the other guests who probably still had no idea what was going on around them.

_**She will never love you, Jellal. Say it, loud and proud like the little possessive hellion you are.**_

It was like his heart had no clear existence when the dark piece of information had said just that.

Everything felt blank.

Completely blank to the point where he couldn't hold the hefty, uncomfortable feel in his chest anymore.

A cold, bitter laugh escaped his lips, then another one, and dozens or more. They all kept running out; even louder, harsher, and it echoed maniacally throughout the parking lot of high, classy and rich limousines and convertibles.

Natsu's fist clenched and unclenched as he witnessed Jellal's current weirdness taking over him. Natsu didn't mind being called weird most of the time—matter of fact, he would agree wholeheartedly. But Jellal had literally knocked him off the market as soon as he started laughing with a broken look in his eyes that wasn't hard to miss. Green eyes were staring back at him with bewilderment and angry eyes that just boiled with pure adrenaline and liquid gasoline that just made contact with fire. But the mist of confusion had wandered around the edges of his olive orbs.

"What's wrong with you? I don't know if it's Erza or not but—"

"Don't fucking act like you know me!" Polished brown equally pierced Natsu to a point of nearly flinching. The deadly tone had almost knocked him out his feet when the other spoke again. "Please…can you please, for once, just shut the _fuck _up? You sicken me with all of your 'I'm so nice' bullshit. First you take her away from _me! _My one and only, and now you're trying to calm _me _down?"

He easily cut off Natsu's astonished expression with another sickened laughter. "I'll make it better for you, cause' I won't be around any longer, so just leave it alone for the moment. I told Juvia to pass my word and give my apology to her."

Natsu dropped his guard for a moment with a raised eyebrow. "Uh...what…?"

Jellal had said nothing. Because tonight…tonight wasn't _destiny. _It had long-gone been disapproved by Mavis, by Erza, and the rest of the disgusting looks he received from those spoiled masks once he laid his hands on her. This night had established that he was not ever going to see Erza again. That his love for her was nothing but a mere joke in her eyes, including everybody else's.

Why?

Because she was _scared _of him.

"Wait…what's that supposed to mean? Are you leaving forever or something?"

With emotional eyes, he answered.

"Yes."

And a harsh wielding fist punching Natsu's face had proven just that.

* * *

It had taken fifteen minutes to have Ultear cooperate and redo the make-up that was easily wiped down with tears. Another ten minutes to make sure that Ultear was _really _alright; just to make sure the woman was in a decent position to not cry again if she makes contact with their boss again. And two minutes since they walked out the bathroom door with tired, and worn out features. Meredy was tired thanks to the fact that she was merely broke and wanted to head to the spa as soon as possible. Ultear was worn out because of Jellal merely wandering to the red-head woman like some crazed womanizer.

They both had enough for one night.

Meredy and Ultear had only passed by the hall for a couple of seconds until they heard strange quickening footsteps pass by the hall. Heels were echoing harshly, but that possibly could've been Meredy's, and Ultear doubted it. Since she, herself, had quickly changed to flats and the other pair had seemed a little far away. It was until both had heard strangled sobs spread like an infection from an unknown hallway that seemed darker than the rest. The two females had turned to each other in suspicion, almost quick to head towards the hallway; Ultear stopped the pinkette from heading into the largest door at the end of the hall.

Green eyes looked at Ultear in worry. "But…shouldn't we help her?"

The mature woman stopped and shook her head. "It's not any of our business. Besides, we are guests, let it be."

Meredy narrowed her eyes in disapproval, despite the sad expression placed on her face there was no way she could ignore the harsh cries of a woman crying in her bedroom. That was like ignoring Ultear's broken down session and simply waiting for the woman to get over it.

Ultear gaped at the woman when the other disobeyed and walked into the hallway they weren't supposed to enter. Meredy was too _bold _but knew when things were wrong and what was right. Personally, Ultear envied that about the smaller woman, but she had come to simply admire it from a distance and keep her cold demeanor to herself.

Following her, they had stopped in front of a white door that was displayed by a wall full of unique paintings and evening lights that were sweetly dim. They stepped quietly; both leaning towards the door that was cracked open, peeping a red-head whose hair had purely scattered into the white, pearly sheets.

Both eyes quickly faded to confusion.

Wasn't that the female that Jellal was so entranced with just an hour ago?

Another weep of desperation tore at the woman's throat. It had hurt them to see the female pour her heart out; the way she cried had seemed like a wife now turned into a widow. It seemed wrong and helpless that there was nothing the both of them could do about it but stand there and accept it.

"Wait." Meredy spoke quietly. "If she's here, alone…then where's Jellal?"

Ultear didn't like the arbitrary jerk in her heart when she realized that something must've went wrong for things to end like this. The woman had seem incredibly miserable, and knowing Jellal, he would never let the emotion escape; though he was dense, the way he was paying all his attention to her…Jellal wasn't stupid. Slow at moments, yes. But stupid…? _Never._

From the strange awareness of this happening kicking into their heads; the girls had almost dropped onto the floor.

Both females knew something went wrong.

_Really wrong._

Because Jellal was usually out of control when things didn't go his way. Not that he was spoiled brat or whatnot, but the man had the strangest composure that meant he constantly bottled things inside of him, possibly making him explode; especially if someone would provoke him into doing such crazy things. Ultear could clearly remember the first time Jellal had gotten out of hand—nearly choking another cooking student who bluffed about putting his hands on Juvia and sexually harassing her. It had became a sight to remember when the man had speed as quick as lightning when he grabbed a pan, a nice amount of hot oil ready to be poured onto the man's face—eyes filled with terror. Jellal was almost put in the arms of assault until the man had dropped the charges and apologized to never test the mans waters again.

The duo prevented from making any noise as they quietly rushed into the large hall that lead to the lounge and bar area of the mansion; and from the commotion of others talking, speaking, and gossiping about a blue-haired man who was full of mystery like the plague.

And when a woman accidently bumped into the two, the females were quick to ask where the man had gone.

"I think he just went around the back, but I could be wrong." The brunette shrugged.

Green and black eyes mirrored each other.

They would take their chances.

* * *

Jellal could not, for the life of him—_breathe._

Literally.

The street lights were so insanely bright that they had almost blinded him. The parking lot area in the Manor was such a puzzle maze despite the numerous sums of cars; however, the area itself was insanely narrow. Large, yet random spaces combined with tight hidden spots were not a good thing. What bothered him even more was that the cars were closely parked to each other like pigs digging into a trough. In a strange way, everything was beginning to daze as an illusion. Somehow as if the brightest stars in the universe had fallen into the sky to prance around his mind for a little while. The small cut on his cheek stung, but what made it even worse was when another fist pounded onto the same spot continuously; almost knocking the consciousness out of him— if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't sleep.

And Jellal _really _wished he could.

Everything was turning round' and round so quickly when he felt his white collar being pulled forward. Jellal winced at the hand slowly being wrapped around his neck. Facing the man, who was no doubt Natsu Dragneel, Jellal would've said something insulting if it weren't for his mouth that was currently caking in blood. Though stunned and weary, Jellal wasn't expecting this, at all. However, he didn't expect Natsu to put an unbelievable amount of force behind his harmful actions—as if releasing a hidden anger that he kept inside of him for a while. Jellal could not blame him. This was Natsu, a man who was brash when it came to thinking, yet was vaguely overprotective of his friends and whoever hurt them would dearly pay the consequences no matter what. Spitting a surprising amount of blood on the concrete floor, Natsu immediately caught him with a powerful right hook that crashed onto his abdomen and the blue-headed man felt his body crumple like a caterpillar wrapping into a cocoon. His mouth opened wide with another wet—bloody cough.

A heavy kick to his chest that he was sure was possible enough to break a rib or two, had awoken Jellal, his vision beaming brightly for only a moment. Jellal found himself in a losing situation of being dragged like a ragdoll, his clothing—now stained red; which had him sneer in anger before elbowing the other in the throat as hard as he can, receiving a gasp from the younger man. The assault seemed enough to get Natsu to let go of him instantly and knock some blood out of him, though all Jellal could manage to do was stumble back and wheeze in as much air as he can while grasping onto his upper torso. Just holding his ribs wasn't enough to sooth the excruciating pain; surely breathing wasn't making the matter any better as well.

Something in his mind and body warned him that if he'd be damaged in that place again, he'd collapse immediately. Jellal felt that he didn't have the right mind to fend Natsu off of him or even be fighting at the moment. Only because the man had felt the horrid urge to puke his guts out, drink the roughest vodka and tequila he can find in his cabinet. Even wallow in his thoughts on what exactly occurred on this nightly event; especially since he was currently getting the shit beat out of him for what he's done. His nose was clogged up in blood, and the red tears were dripping onto his chin and smearing all over his face messily. His cheek felt strangely numb, and a cut in his mouth was burning him with every touch his tongue lapped around it.

As if the tempting thought of a clock striking midnight, everything stopped. Though when he heard the clicking of dark heels and found the familiar faces of two women who looked pretty worried. Jellal would've gaped and asked them what was wrong if it weren't for the fact that he was practically losing his vision and bleeding abundantly. The pale face of Ultear was enough to say that she had been crying…badly; though the expression was quickly avoided as she stared at the both of them in astonishment. Meredy on the other hand was quietly stunned, and it weren't for the shocked look on her face, Jellal would've been sure she would've done her disturbingly high-pitched screams. Natsu had barely paid any attention to them, not even noticing the two as they were on top of the stairs leading to the main entry of the manor.

"What…what is going on?" She said in a strained, hoarse voice. Turning to Natsu, she asked again. "Why are you doing this?" The ravenette instantly ran up to him, giving the other man the coldest glare Jellal had ever witnessed from his employee.

"Jellal!?" Meredy had gotten away from her stupor as she sprinted towards Jellal.

Natsu looked aghast for a mere second before barking back at Ultear. "This wasn't my fault!—he'd hurt Erza!"

"And he apologized, Natsu." Another voice entered within the parking lot, and from the calm, terrifying small tone of hers, he knew things were about to get worse. All four heads turned to Jellal's little sister who calmly walked up to the bloody, roughed up' duo; she stood in front of Jellal—similar to a mother bird protecting her children from harm. Blue eyes were colder than he had ever witnessed in most of his life, including the tremor of her fists tightening a pale white in anger.

It was never a good idea to get Juvia upset; for which it was rarer than an eclipse happening in the sky. Because of this, it made her anger all the more dangerous.

Like water, Juvia's anger was instantly boiling as she kept her deadly gaze onto Natsu. "Do you think he had any idea Erza would have a complete breakdown? Is it really Juvia's brother's fault that you'd have to attack him this way!?"

Jade eyes narrowed, a hint of guilt faltering within them. "What…What makes you think he didn't, Juvia?" Natsu asked suspiciously, his teeth bearing in aggravation and confusion. It was never a good sign to argue with your members; especially since he and Juvia were practically family since the day they swore an oath to join Fairy Tail. A company—almost an orphanage that brought change to the world since the very beginning. "There's probably a reason why he got all _cozy _with her in the dance floor! Maybe he wanted to hurt her in the first place!"

While all Jellal heard were footsteps, arguing, and more people beginning to join up at the horrid sight. He breathed raggedly as another cough came up again; the blood seeming to splotch onto his good pants and hands. It took practically a couple of seconds to notice that his sister's face was quickly painted with worry as she kneeled beside him while Gray (Who entered moments later) started to calm down Natsu. Jellal would've laughed if he wasn't in so much pain at the moment, not that he wasn't surprised. It wasn't anything new for Natsu to react that way, if anything it fascinated him a little. Natsu was just as Jellal imagined. Selfish when it came to his friends, incredibly hard-headed, never thinks before whipping out his actions; though was vaguely kind to others in some sort of sense. Maybe this is what attracted his Erza to Natsu—the strange will of justice he held within his arms—they dreamt of achieving the same thing in life…

Love. Family. And integrity.

_Erza…oh, my angel._

The remembrance of a memory that happened not so long ago…. _Her face. _Jellal had never seen the sight of her being so _livid _and just so…so what had he done to her to deserve this kind of treatment exactly?

He remembered being patient yet so persistent on the furious rose-head a little longer; Jellal's chest heaving up and down furiously and he felt like he was probably having another panic attack. He can even feel his teeth gritting harshly at the memory of Erza crying—no—controlling her emotions from having to breakdown hysterically at the sight of him. Just like everyone else at the ball, he was confused the most. Jellal can tell she was struggling on controlling herself, only because she would most likely—which she did—cause a scene that no doubt everyone would remember. This was the _Erza, _one of the strongest, beautiful, and of course, influential women in Fairy Tail; and no doubt can he blame her if she tried attacking him again.

The scenery was mesmerizingly painful. A dull ache in the pit of chest causing it to fall rapidly; and just seeing Erza, so hurt…so _broken_.

_What have I done?_

Is this really what Mavis had planned for him? Were things like this _supposed _to happen?

"Let him go." Jellal heard Ultear say softly, yet all the more dangerous. He then realized that the three of them were practically in front of them now. His little sister trying to hold her small tears as her cold, soft hands soothed tenderly to his red, scarred cheeks. Jellal didn't know how he got them. His first thought it was from Erza who probably scratched him when she smacked him in front of everyone or the possibility that Natsu who had no doubt roughed him up a bit to avenge his best friend's meltdown; in all honesty, Jellal wouldn't be surprised if there would be a bruise on his cheek. Either way, he was in pain and everything was stinging horrendously with every small rub of worry Juvia was making.

"Jellal…you're bleeding…" She murmured, biting her bottom lip with her eyes getting watery by the second despite the fact that Natsu and Ultear were having a minor shouting match; Gray having to intervene between them since he wasn't fond of the fact that his own cousin and best friend were arguing like a divorced couple.

Hearing Ultear and Natsu argue loudly was truthfully in the back of his mind; only because the hazy visions were getting into his head, and the pale face of Juvia quickly wiping the excess blood oozing out of his nose and mouth was making him a little anxious and confused. Juvia was terrified of blood no matter what the situation was; she never liked the sight of it despite any situation. His sister was haemophobic; and never had she ever faced her fears of blood until now, and this surprised him in all honesty, though Jellal couldn't help but be thankful to his little sister for helping him right now.

Jellal felt like he needed all the help he can get.

Through his dimmed sighting, he saw another blob of pink, and the small timid voice of Meredy joined in. "Boss…I'm going to call the ambulance, you need a lot of medical attention."

Brown wild eyes broke into saucers at the sound of 'Hospital' and he felt as if someone had literally burned him when he shuffled backwards automatically. "N-No!" He then coughed harshly once more when Juvia made a move to hold onto him, soothingly rubbing his back.

Juvia nodded towards the pinkette, already seeing her shocked features. "Juvia's brother…does not like hospitals. Ever since we were young, he hated them." Juvia said quietly. "Jellal. You won't stop bleeding and your beginning to lose consciousness, whatever you do, stay awake, and lift up your head. _Please_."

Jellal had almost brushed off the comment and wiped his nose instantly, making a stammering move to stand up despite that his legs felt completely boneless. "I…I'll be fine. I just need to rest a bit." He wheezed a little. His body felt intensely numb as Juvia and Meredy held onto his back and arms to help him stand up completely. His ribs were _throbbing _so bad to the point that there was no doubt the ingrate had possibly bruised them.

"So what should we do, take him back home and pretend that nothing happened?" Meredy questioned the blunette with narrowed eyes. "Who knows, he'll probably get another panic attack when no one's there anyway."

Juvia's head whipped at the latter statement. Her eyes widening at the thought, "Panic attack…? Since when has Juvia's brother caught a heart attack?"

Jellal was quick to give Meredy a pair of deep threatening orbs as he was eager to escape their hold. "Ah…," He stopped mumbling while running a hand through his hair."I'll drive."

"_Jellal_." The caterer slowly turned his head towards his younger sister; his lips pursed in regret and anger thanks to Meredy's loud mouth. It had only been on rare occasions when Juvia said his name, and she only did that to anyone when she was either beyond angry or just wanted to be left alone. Juvia despised when no one warned her about anything, especially when it comes to hiding things from her.

"Driving?" Meredy interrupted. "But you're not in great condition to be driving!"

"She's right, Jellal." Ultear's quiet voice spoke as she stood next to Meredy, her arms folded in frustration within their situation. "At least…let me give you a ride home."

Not being able to bear the pleading gaze that Juvia was giving him, he answered. "Fine…let's go."

Though bloodied and bruised, Jellal can easily feel Natsu's eyes beam into his skull until he arrived at the familiar catering van. Giving Ultear the key to drive, and Meredy deciding she would stay for the meantime until things settled down, Jellal chose to sit in the passenger seat, simply looking at the passing streets and night lights through the window. Jellal felt immediately nostalgic at the realization that he was alone in his thoughts despite the fact that Ultear was right beside him.

Instantly going into the car's compartment area, he went into the essentials, desperately digging his hand looking for the familiar tube of drugs he's induced throughout the days he couldn't sleep. In little seconds he found the little orange bottle and popped two familiar pills into his mouth, swallowing roughly at the feeling—although he almost gagged but Jellal continued to swallow heavily despite the nauseous taste of blood straying in his mouth.

Ultear had watched the small exchange and her worried eyes only raised an eyebrow as she stopped at the red light. Another retched cough escaped his esophagus, and he felt his body yet again deny the small pills. Coughing roughly onto the palm of his gloved hand, he found the repetitive sight of those white pills rained in splattered red, his fingers and palm covered with the shadowy liquid of what smelled and taste like copper. Lately everything in his body was going in a whole different direction; and the rejection of sleeping pills was one of them.

Ultear intervened by grabbing a pile of napkins from the compartment, he nodded in thanks before wiping his hand down and most of his lips. The dark cherry fluid practically soaking the napkin with ease. Red. _Red. _The long red hair that looked so beautiful to get a hold of, the soft texture of it—so silky and perfect.

Like Erza.

_**Oh god. Not this again…**_

It didn't take him long to decide that he needed a smoke, at least something to have his mind cleared to avoid his conscience and reality, even for just a moment. But as he whipped out the cigarette from his pocket, Ultear snatched it away.

"Ultear—"

"Don't you dare say a word. You finally stopped bleeding, however, your breathing hard and you haven't been sleeping, not to mention you've had two panic attacks." She said, her face concerned for her boss. "When are you going to finally realize that the people around you, who care for you the most, are actually worried about you? When will you stop being blind and listen to us, Jellal? Do you even care that you've been looking pale and exhausted lately, or do you just want to ignore it until everything gets worse, than have to reflect on your actions?"

Settling on the right state of mind to stay silent in order for her to get some time to think, Jellal leaned onto the interior seat a little more, opening the window and decided to close his eyes until Ultear dropped him off.

* * *

Erza had continuously wiped her reddened cheeks from the dark make-up that washed onto her pale face the more she cried. Her heels were long thrown somewhere in the corner of her extravagant room, her dress was still tightly wrapped around her yet she hadn't managed to escape without people questioning what was wrong. She had come to humiliate herself in front of everyone, and this would no doubt bother her for the rest of her life since her outburst would cost Makarov reputation and power; not to mention they might be exposed for what they really were behind since charities and parties usually held a motive.

"_Erza…" The old man who raised her throughout had spoken quietly while petting Happy's soft hair. "When the time comes, I want everything to remain what it is—and to hold you and everyone else responsible for the guild."_

The red head remembered the conversation, only because it had happened a few hours ago before she got dressed for the nightly event.

"_Mirajane will be the holder of Fairy Tail's fortune. You, as will Natsu, will be my two heirs for Fairy Tail—until Laxus has matured more, and both you deemed ready, than he will be the next to run the line in this company." The old man smiled._

_Erza simply nodded with a small smile. "Master, this is the fifth time we've had this conversation. You have the flu. You are not dying—at least not anytime soon." She patted his small white patch of hair and gave a family kiss to the bald spot. _

"_Get better, Master. The sooner, the better."_

Her teeth bit harshly on her lip—not even realizing the redness limp out of them in pain. Her knees automatically fell to the ground, and her eyes were strained far into pinkness as more heated tears escaped as she held onto her arms for support.

_He's alive…after all this time, he's still…no. No, no, no…__**no. **__This wasn't supposed to happen…_

If it wasn't for the sudden knock on her door, she would've still delved within her lost thoughts at that very moment.

"Erza…? It's me, Natsu." Another knock echoed through her ears. "Can I come in? I gotta speak with you. It's urgent."

She wiped her current tears as quickly as possible before she stammered, "Y-Yes, come in Natsu." In return; the door opened immediately.

The first thing she noted about Natsu was how ruffled he was; not to mention that there was dried blood on his fists and a major amount of bruises by his neck, cheek and a swollen lip. His dress shirt was practically ripped and the face expression held something of disappointment, guilt, and pent up anger. Erza blinked slowly; feeling confusion run through her face as she looked back at him—trying to piece the puzzle pieces together on what just happened and why Natsu was currently in this state.

"Um…" Natsu opened his mouth, then closed it before speaking again. "I…me and that Jellal guy, we got into a fight at the parking lot just about now."

Her eyes widened in distraught, as well as her mouth gaped open in astonishment. "And…I, it was over you, Erza. I don't know what was up with him' he went all kind of nuts talking about you and stuff' I…guess you can say I hurt him bad enough to never approach you again, Erza." Natsu said again, his fists tightening.

Erza was quiet for a couple of seconds. "He…Jellal—"

"_We're finally free."_

Her head began to hurt.

"…Erza…?" Natsu asked in curiosity. Catching the sudden pain that passed through those brown eyes. "Are you alright?"

Erza brushed a hand on her eyes. _Those _memories were beginning to surface again. The ones she tried so hard to erase from her head, and she swore she had until she saw _him _again.

"Natsu…" The older woman mumbled with small, quiet voice. "Listen, I want you to stay away from _that _man." Her tone was like spitting acid; but Natsu realized that she looked nothing as if cold and strict, but more afraid the more she spoke. "He…he, is more dangerous than you think. He is a _monster. _He is capable of hurting people, and he is… oh Mavis, he's Juvia's brother." She sighed deeply as she placed a hand on her other elbow in anxiety. Rubbing it soothingly as if it would calm her thoughts. "Juvia…she has to stay away from him. Juvia does not know how much danger she is in when being with that man and I have a feeling he will hurt her quite soon."

Natsu looked at her in disbelief. "Erza…"

"Jellal is nothing but a stain that has yet to be washed. He is nothing but a shadow that cannot stop following me—a man who I deeply hate with all my heart…!" The fat tears started rolling onto her cheeks again as she held onto herself. "He…he, does not deserved to be forgiven. Jellal should relinquish in death itself."

It was until they heard glasses shatter onto the tiled floor that Natsu and Erza's startled eyes widened at the heartbroken expression placed on Juvia's face.

* * *

(A/N): Whew. I feel accomplished. This chapter was a little tough to situate since I was trying to see how everything would fit together with less word amount, but it was impossible (Technically the word amount if 9,365 but of course fanfiction services exaggerate). For those who actually noticed, I pretty much update on Wednesday nights and Sunday nights since those are pretty much my free days. I kind of realized the spike of hits that went up this Sunday and I felt bad since I had to tweak this and that to the story and could not update on time. I've been a little busy since school is about to end and exams and projects is right around the corner. I also hadn't got to work on this chapter because of the fact that I had my wisdom tooth removed. (Pain and swelling was horrible while my best friend made jokes on me.) Other than that, things for this chapter pretty much sums it up.

Now, for the good news and bad news.

The good news is...'Stage I' has now finally been completed! Things will pretty much go hectic from here on out. And the stages into this story will soon reveal...why they're stages in the story.

Another thing is that, I pretty much know how many chapters that are supposed to be in this story..(Originally fourteen) but I think I might add a little more thanks to a certain convenience. So I'm just going to guess that the maximum might be eighteen, I'm not exactly sure, but I'm just assuming.

The bad news is, since I basically wrote down all earlier chapters quite quickly before posting this story, updating will be kind of slow from now on. But I have a lot of chapters outlined already, and I'm in between drafting up the next chapter and some crack one shots I'm planning. Just need to add more details, fix some sections, and add more Jellal insanity here and there, and bam. It'll be done in a jiffy.

And now I will say goodbye for the meantime. **Penguin trainer, Darkside Wolf, BlackCatNeko999, Izzy Scarlet, xxxMissAlicexxx, Guest, and 0Shadow Panther0 **I appreciated your feedback so much! Thanks again for the support! (Including the fav's and subscribers!) ;3 I usually would write back but I don't want to make the Author's note as long as it is right now. But I will eventually by my next update!**  
**

Until next time everyone!

* * *

_**Here are some facts about Jellal and this story (for those who are confused):**_

**_One_**. Jellal's conscience is basically Jellal's sane self. Though Jellal is pretty much normal, his mind is really far back where there is nothing but Erza in his head. So of course, Jellal heeds attention to it... sometimes, but not all the time. Cause' it's kind of creepy to listen to voices in your head, and because Jellal wants to be sure that he as a man, has full control of himself.

**_Two_**. Jellal has does not know a lot of his memories (If I didn't make it obvious enough) and mostly depends on the distant thoughts of his head about an Island. So far, all he knows is his friends, Erza, the Tower of Heaven, and the mysterious dead body that wanders into the ocean. No he cannot sleep, but his mind dozes off into these things; so no, he is not sleeping. Just zoning out.

**_Three_**. Meredy and Ultear play **major** roles in this story, specifically Ultear the most. Later chapters will show dark sides of many people, and more thoughts and dreams will be revealed and see what's the real case on what's happening with Jellal, Erza, and those who are adapted around them.

_**Four**_. What Fairy Tail and every guild represents in this story is a company of sorts. Fairy Tail are more of the business type, but not political or helpless. They are storing in making Fiore (Basically America) into a better place. So are the rest of the guilds that are providing them with more funds to destroy political corruption and bribery from darker guilds.

_**Five**_. Natsu's perspective in this story is a little off and on. His reasons for fighting Jellal are seen differently but not entirely. Making him in character (or trying to) was that I would always bring Natsu as a man who will always be there for his friends; and since Jellal went a little coo-coo for co-co puffs, he had to straighten the guy out since Jellal punched him out of the blue. (Both got equally owned btw.)

_**Six**_. This story is dark for a reason, and I want to make sure many do heed to the warnings before people randomly report me or something. This story will not end happily...I think. (I tend to usually change my mind.) But so far, no good ending is appearing in my head and I already know how the things are going to end, so I do apologize if those were expecting a lovey-smoosh-smoosh kind of story. I really am sorry! D:


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